Breakfast Buffet
7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Breakout Sessions
8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Disrupting the Innovation Process: How to use AI to triple the speed and increase the quality of your innovation process
David Robertson, Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management
AI has already transformed what we do. The next stage is how it will transform the way we create: new products, new services, new processes, new ideas, new ways of thinking. In this provocative and practical keynote, MIT innovation expert David Robertson reveals how AI will transform how we innovate and what the future of our businesses looks like. Success in this new era won’t just be about changing what we build, it’ll be about changing how we build it. From Polaroid’s “scheduling invention” approach to the rise of stage-gate processes to the Design Thinking revolution, every major leap forward has redefined what innovation looks like. And today, we’re standing at the edge of the next big shift. At MIT, Robertson and his team have built a groundbreaking multi-agent AI platform that supercharges the entire way companies generate, refine, and select ideas.
In this fast-paced session, Robertson takes you on a whirlwind tour through the history of innovation methods, then shows you what’s coming next. And in the hands-on workshop that follows, your team will dive straight into MIT’s new AI platform, learning exactly how to use it to tackle your biggest innovation challenges.
DeRisking Environmental Threats: Strategies for Todays Leaders
Heather LaMarre, Author, Professor, and Founder of HBM Strategies and Heartbeat Media
In today’s rapidly evolving and politically polarized environment, trust has become more than a value, it’s a strategic imperative. For CEOs and Board Chairs, navigating transformation requires modernizing public affairs strategies and leading with foresight to mitigate emerging risks and external threats. This interactive session provides leaders with the tools to embed trust at the core of their organizational strategy while addressing ideological divides, competing member priorities, and the need for alignment between member benefits and mission-driven goals. Learn how to safeguard brand integrity, foster unity, and ensure organizational resilience in the face of uncertainty and socio-political complexity.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify emerging reputational risks from political, social, and generational forces.
- Build proactive strategies to derisk environmental threats and strengthen trust.
- Modernize engaged leadership by transforming public affairs strategy around trust and transparency.
The Future-Ready Board: Strategies to Strengthen Credit Union Board Leadership
Anthony Goodman, Senior Client Partner & Leader of the North American Board Effectiveness Practice at Korn Ferry
Andrea Gosz, Senior Client Partner in the Financial Services Markets at Korn Ferry
The speed of change and disruption creates a common dilemma for all companies, how to simultaneously perform (run the business) and transform (change the business). The board must be a critical partner of management, helping to anticipate and shape the future, whilst continuing to monitor, manage, and maintain performance. Yet the demands on boards have never been greater: from economic uncertainty to geopolitical risk, from sustainability to leaps in AI, technology, and cyber risk. Best-in-class boards are not overly focused on compliance and reporting. Instead, they are clear about their purpose, their composition, their process and structure, and their partnership with key stakeholders. Boards work most effectively when there is alignment between their purpose, their composition (people), their approach to partnership, and their process and structure: the 4xPs. Supported, of course, by strong board leadership.
Participants will gain a practical understanding of how high-performing boards effectively balance oversight and strategic foresight in the face of rapid change and disruption. They will leave equipped with the 4xPs framework, Purpose, People, Partnership, and Process/Structure, to evaluate and strengthen their own board’s effectiveness.
Networking Break
9:30 – 9:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions Continue
9:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Travel Time
11:00 – 11:05 a.m.
Bonus Sessions (3)
11:05 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Board Chair Roundtable: Strengthening Governance and Strategic Leadership
Steve Williams, CEO & Partner at Cornerstone Advisors
Connect with fellow credit union board chairs for an engaging, peer-focused roundtable designed to address the unique responsibilities and opportunities of board leadership. In this confidential and collaborative setting, participants will explore key governance challenges, share proven practices, and discuss strategies for fostering effective oversight and alignment with organizational goals. This session offers a valuable opportunity to exchange insights, refine leadership approaches, and strengthen your board’s impact on the credit union’s long-term success.
Actionable AI, Start to Finish: Two Real Use Cases Demonstrated Live!
Josh DeTar, EVP of Evangelism at Tyfone
Nearly everyone is talking about AI, but for many, it still feels overwhelming, costly, and out of reach. This session cuts through the hype. Join Josh DeTar of Tyfone for an energetic, demonstration-driven presentation that showcases two practical AI use cases designed specifically for CU executives and directors. No large-scale deployments are required. Josh will walk you through two targeted examples that deliver immediate productivity gains. He will show you exactly which tools can be used, demonstrate the prompts, and illustrate how these approaches can be applied as soon as you return to the office. Throughout the session, Josh will build the prompts, run them, refine them, and show how the resulting outputs can be transformed into clear, actionable dashboards, all in real time. This session is ideal for CU leaders seeking to boost productivity, reduce friction, and reclaim valuable time. Level the playing field and see how AI can shift from an intimidating concept to an accessible, practical toolkit, starting now.
Beyond the Basics: Emerging Trends in Executive Retention & Succession Strategy
Debra Hilton, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Executive VP at D. Hilton Associates & Brian J. Kidwell, SPHR, Executive VP at D.Hilton Associates
Discover key insights from D. Hilton’s 2025/2026 SERP Survey, showing how supplemental executive retirement and retention plans have become vital for credit unions facing rapid leadership turnover. The presentation outlines rising SERP adoption, evolving plan designs, and compensation strategies aimed at closing retirement gaps that qualified plans cannot address. Emphasis is placed on pay for performance, the importance of prime earning years, and the need for flexible SERP structures aligned with organizational growth and succession planning. Overall, this presentation underscores SERPs as essential tools for long term executive retention and succession.
Lunch
On your own
Optional Events – separate registrations required
Parris Carter
Sharee English
Nick Brown