Friday, November 7

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Roundtable Session: "Leading Through Change — Strategic Priorities for Credit Union Executives"
Facilitated by: Pete Duffy, Managing Director, SRM

Join an exclusive executive roundtable led by Pete Duffy of SRM, designed to address the most pressing strategic and operational challenges facing credit union leaders today. This dynamic session will bring together seasoned executives for a candid, peer-to-peer discussion on topics that are reshaping the future of the industry.

Discussion topics will include:

• Attracting Younger Members: Strategies to engage the next generation while maintaining strong relationships with aging members.

• Succession Planning: Preparing leadership pipelines for long-term organizational continuity.

• Growth and Profitability: Innovative approaches to strategic growth, market expansion, and maintaining strong member value.

• Cybersecurity & AI: Emerging risks, defense strategies, and opportunities for leveraging AI in operations and member services.

• Compliance & Audit Trends: Navigating evolving regulatory demands and identifying proactive internal audit approaches.

• Liquidity & Digital Assets: Managing balance sheet health while exploring opportunities in digital asset offerings.

• Executive Compensation: Structuring competitive packages that align with institutional goals and regulatory expectations.

This roundtable is a unique opportunity to benchmark with peers, challenge current thinking, and return with actionable insights.  Please come prepared to discuss and ask questions.  This will be a highly productive working roundtable session.

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Saturday, November 8

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“Turning Silence into Dialogue” by Miranda Flury

In every board meeting, there are often unspoken issues—those "elephants in the room" that

everyone is aware of but is hesitant to address. Whether it’s a critical business challenge, a

looming external threat, or internal dynamics that hinder progress, these unspoken truths can

stifle growth and ideation. This keynote session will explore strategies for surfacing and

tackling these difficult conversations head-on with your board and executive team. This

session will provide actionable insights into recognizing, addressing, and resolving these

issues, ultimately strengthening your credit union.

 

“Fostering Strategic Culture” by Miranda Flury

Boards and Executives have been tasked with pivoting and re-orienting to a new future in a state of great uncertainty. While the "right" path forward through these challenges will look different to each business, the Board processes, practices, and skills that will identify winning strategies will be common. This session will present specific experiences and ideas that can help your Board develop a more effective strategic orientation and promote a culture of thinking "24-7 strategic thinking" to stay ahead of change. These tools can help your credit union be ready and confident to confront the challenging decade ahead, whatever awaits.

 

PARTICIPANT TAKEAWAYS

1. Participants will be able to define Strategic Culture.

2. Participants will explore individual competencies, processes, and group dynamics that support a strategic culture.

3. Participants will reflect on their own processes and how they foster (or not!) a strategic culture.

 

Sunday, November 9

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“Strength in Unity: Building a Backbone for the Movement” by Tansley Stearns
In a noisy media environment, individual credit unions often struggle to effectively communicate their purpose, relevance, and impact. Tansley Stearns, Backbone’s board chair, will unpack why Backbone Coalition exists: to bring coherence, visibility, and influence on the credit union movement. Attendees will explore how a unified voice can shift public perception, awareness, and strengthen the cooperative difference in the eyes of consumers. More than branding, this talk demonstrates how collaboration in action can become a force multiplier. Walk away with tangible action your credit union can take and inspiration that credit unions don’t just need allies, we need a shared megaphone.

 

"Inside Washington: What Credit Union Leaders Need to Know" by Greg Mesack
Washington, D.C. is constantly evolving—and the policies debated there directly shape the future of credit unions. In this timely session, Greg Mesack, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at America’s Credit Unions, will provide credit union executives with an insider’s look at the issues and opportunities at the center of the nation’s capital.

Greg will share the latest insights on legislative priorities, regulatory developments, and the broader political climate influencing financial services. From consumer protection and data security to regulatory modernization and the essential role of credit unions in their communities, you’ll leave with a clear understanding of what matters most in Washington right now.  This session will also highlight how advocacy efforts are moving the needle—and why your engagement is essential to ensure the credit union movement remains strong. Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or just starting to engage, Greg’s perspective will help you connect the dots between Washington’s heartbeat and your credit union’s future.

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"Stablecoins & Credit Unions: Stabilize and Act Now on the GENIUS Act” by Kevin Olsen

Stablecoins aren’t an issue for the future. They’re here today, and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act makes it clear that credit unions of every size must prepare. For community and mid-sized credit unions, waiting on the sidelines risks losing clients to larger competitors and Fintechs already moving ahead. In this fast-paced, expert-led webinar, the Payments Professor, Kevin Olsen, explains what the GENIUS Act means for your organization, how stablecoins connect with instant payments and tokenized deposits and the immediate steps you need to take to stay competitive and compliant. The message is simple: act now, or risk being left behind. Attend this session to learn where and how your credit union will fit into the stable coin revolution.

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Monday, November 10

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"The US Economy: Very Resilient, So Far" Part I by Elliot Eisenberg

Attend this entertaining and informative presentation on the economy and learn from Dr. Eisenberg how GDP, which includes household consumption, corporate spending, government spending, and net exports, are likely to perform over the next 12 months given likely expansionary monetary and fiscal policies coming out of Washington DC. Learn how different sectors of the economy are performing and likely to perform, with particular attention devoted to tariffs and imports, energy, construction, and critically the labor market and as a result how inflation will behave and as a result what the Fed is likely to do with short-term interest rates over the next year, and how long-term rates are likely to behave as a result. Elliot will then turn his attention to net interest margins, ROA, the shape of the yield curve, loan loss reserves, default rates on auto loans, credit cards, home mortgages, lending activity, and M&A activity among credit unions. Dr. Eisenberg will also look at auto sales, consumer sentiment, small business sentiment, CEO sentiment, and the rest of the macro economy.

 

"The US Economy: Very Resilient, So Far" Part II by Elliot Eisenberg

This session will focus almost exclusively on real estate including retail, office, industrial, commercial, lodging, and agricultural but with particular attention being devoted to residential real estate including multifamily but specifically the single-family residential housing market. Attention will be devoted to explaining the many problems the residential housing market is contending with including high prices, an on-going lack of inventory, high input costs and the regulatory barriers which continually push up prices for new and existing housing. Elliot will also discuss why builders are unable to build sufficient new units to satisfy demand brought on by demographic changes, the impact of the steady reversal of the Work From Home phenomenon and what it means for regional home price appreciation rates. This session will also carefully discuss the likely path of housing starts, existing housing sales, home prices, and mortgage applications including rate & term, cash-out, and ARMs. This session will end by briefly comparing economic conditions across all 50 states. Dr. Eisenberg then looks forward to taking questions from the audience.

 

Tuesday, November 11

 

"The Human Advantage: Winning in the Digital Banking Era" by Samantha Paxson

As financial technology reshapes banking and AI changes how members interact with their

finances, credit unions must decide how to compete. This keynote examines how credit unions can

use their strongest asset – genuine human relationships – while adopting the right technology to

grow and stay relevant.

 

Key Takeaways for Leaders:

• Strategic Positioning: Transform member-centricity from a cultural value into a

measurable growth driver that creates competitive advantage in a market disrupted by both

banks and fintechs.

• Technology Integration Framework: Learn practical ways to implement AI and digital tools

that strengthen human relationships rather than replace them.

• Board Governance Insights: Understand how board oversight must evolve to balance

innovation with cooperative principles and member trust.

• Fintech Partnership Strategies: Navigate the dual nature of fintechs as both competitors

and collaborators – learn when to compete, when to partner, and how to structure win-win

relationships that benefit members.

• ROI of Human Connection: Review data showing how investing in human-centered service

design delivers real returns in member acquisition, retention, and wallet share.

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This session gives C-suite executives and board members practical strategies for embracing digital

transformation while preserving the human touch that sets credit unions apart. Drawing on

exclusive consumer research insights from her role as EY Advisor in Residence, Samantha Paxson

shares proprietary data on emerging member expectations and behavioral trends that credit unions

can leverage immediately. Attendees will leave with a clear set of actions for transforming member-

centricity from an ideal into a measurable growth strategy that drives real competitive advantage.

 

"Deep Dive into Your Institution and Peer Group” by Jamie T. Sumner

In the “Deep Dive into Your Institution and Peer Group” session, you’ll gain fresh insights into how your institution’s performance compares to the broader industry. Each participant will receive a customized performance report tailored to their institution, which will be used as a key reference throughout the presentation. Think of this as a pre-strategic planning session—an opportunity to establish a solid understanding of where you are today before defining where you want to go. Using a guided self-assessment and our proprietary risk-versus-reward model, you’ll examine the key drivers of performance and assess the related risk levels against both a benchmark and peer group.

 

The key learning objectives are:

1. Identify how your institution stacks up against peers and benchmarks.

2. Leverage your customized performance report for insight and discussion.

3. Apply the risk-versus-reward model to key performance drivers.

4. Build a strong foundation for future strategic planning.

 

Wednesday, November 12

 

“Practical AI: Real-Use Solutions You Can Put to Work Right Away” by Josh DeTar

Nearly everyone is talking about AI as a magical fix—but for many it can feel overwhelming, costly, and out of reach. This session cuts through the hype. Join Josh DeTar of Tyfone for an energetic and hands‑on presentation showcasing five actionable AI use cases designed specifically for CU executives and directors. No large‑scale deployments. Josh walks you through specific examples for instant productivity - he tells you which tools to use, gives you the prompts to copy and paste, and you can apply these first thing when you get back to your credit union. This session is ideal for CU leaders looking to boost productivity, reduce friction, and save valuable time.  Level the playing field: turn AI from intimidating concept into accessible toolset—starting now.

 

"Technology is Great – Until It Isn’t” by Leah Hamilton

The rapid rate of fraud and cyber risks have even the most savvy credit unions on edge when trying to balance their members’ needs for faster, efficient, simple financial solutions.  Join this session as we highlight the top 10 fraud and cyber risks credit unions face and what you could (or should) be doing to mitigate those risks.  We will also highlight key reporting information essential for the Board’s strategic and risk management decisioning to consider when establishing your appetite for risk.