Anna Bruzgulis
Anna Bruzgulis is the Senior Market Insights & Advisory Services Manager at Filene, helping credit unions turn data into actionable strategies that enhance member experience. She leads Filene’s Member Pulse initiative and oversees custom research projects, guiding organizations from insight to impact.
Remarkable! How Credit Unions Can Make Remarkable Experiences
In today’s competitive landscape, credit unions must go beyond being good to become truly remarkable. Drawing on Filene’s research, Anna’s presentation explores the key drivers of differentiation, including digital innovation, data utilization, governance, employee experience, and member experience, and how credit unions can stand out and be remembered.
Robert Siciliano
Robert Siciliano is a nationally recognized cybersecurity expert, author, and speaker with over two decades of experience helping individuals and organizations protect themselves from cyber threats. He is the CEO of Safr.me and is known for translating complex security concepts into practical, actionable guidance through engaging, real world presentations.
The Strategic Human Firewall: Fortifying the AI-Driven Blindspot
As AI threats bypass technical defenses, human trust is the new vulnerability. This session trains credit unions to verify—not assume—turning them into a strategic human firewall that protects both the organization and their personal digital lives.
Bill Stainton
Bill Stainton is a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and innovation expert who helps leaders turn creativity into practical, breakthrough results. A 29 time Emmy Award winner and best selling author, he brings real world innovation experience to organizations across industries.
Session 1 | Connect the Dots: Unleashing Credit Union Innovation
In this engaging keynote, innovation expert Bill Stainton reframes innovation as seeing overlooked opportunities and acting on them. He shares practical, real world insights to help credit unions spot opportunities, engage teams, and stay relevant without relying on massive budgets or disruptive overhauls.
Session 2 | Elite Innovation Lab
The Elite Innovation Lab is a hands-on, interactive session for credit union leaders that turns keynote insights into action. Participants apply proven innovation tools to real challenges—from member growth to operational issues—generating practical, high-potential ideas they can take back and test. It’s focused, energizing, and designed to move teams from inspiration to real-world impact.
Dr. Bill Conerly
Dr. Bill Conerly is an economist, consultant, and author who helps organizations connect economic trends to business strategy. He has extensive experience in banking and corporate planning, has worked with credit unions nationwide, and is a contributor to Forbes.com and the author of two books.
Economic Outlook, Your To-Do List and Your Radar Screen
Dr. Conerly will present his forecast for economic growth and the risk of recession, inflation, and interest rates. He will highlight critical action items for credit union leaders, as well as upcoming issues to be monitored, including the labor force and artificial intelligence.
Ancin Cooley
Ancin Cooley is the principal and owner of Synergy Bank and Credit Union Consulting, where he has spent the past 15 years advising banks and credit unions nationwide. A former bank examiner with the U.S. Treasury, he specializes in strategic planning, enterprise risk management, governance, and regulatory readiness. Ancin is a trusted advisor to CEOs and boards, known for helping institutions align strategy with execution to drive measurable results.
Succession Planning Is Revenue Planning: Why Talent Risk Management Drives Consistent Earnings
Credit unions miss earnings due to execution failures, often caused by talent risk when knowledge and decision-making are concentrated in too few people. This session reframes succession planning as earnings continuity planning, showing how talent gaps impact the P&L and offering a practical, actionable system to identify critical roles, reduce risk, and build bench strength to protect performance.