Below are the speakers for the 2023 conference.
Corey Wrinn
Managing Director
Rivel
Corey oversees all sales, marketing, research, and operational functions within the CXLign team which conducts primary research on U.S. banking customers. Ultimately, the research analysis informs clients on their market position, identifies areas for growth and opportunity, and monitors their overall impact on their customers and community.
Prior to joining Rivel, Corey was the inaugural Director of Institutional Research at Choate Rosemary Hall, building the office to support data-informed decision making that supported student success, enrollment targets, and endowment growth. His background includes additional positions at universities, colleges, and consulting groups within Enrollment Management, focusing on market survey insight and predictive modeling.
Anna Marie Wood
Business Coaching
TalentGuided Services
Anna is a senior executive, an attorney and a certified professional coach. She is passionate about coaching executives and professionals to challenge self-limiting beliefs, unleash untapped potential and thrive in their careers with authenticity and balance. Her coaching philosophy is grounded in mindfulness, an understanding of neuroscience and the process for creating lasting change. Anna combines extensive professional and career experience with coaching expertise to help you achieve your professional and career goals. Her services include leadership and career strategy coaching.
In addition to her more than 30 years of executive, leadership and career strategy experience, Anna holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Laws from the University of Houston Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Virginia. She is accredited as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is also certified in the Benchmarks 360° suite of assessments through the Center for Creative Leadership. She has reinvented herself professionally multiple times and served in executive and leadership positions in law firms, the private sector and the federal government.
As your coach, she will help you gain clarity on your goals and steps you can take to achieve them. She also serves as your sounding board and accountability partner to facilitate and support your professional and personal growth.
April Query
Regional & Community Services Manager
College Foundation of North Carolina
April has been providing free information on college and career readiness, financial aid and financial literacy to communities in North Carolina since 2006. She is a three-time graduate of UNC Wilmington, earning her bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s degree in public administration, and doctorate in educational leadership. Her research areas include American Indian students in North Carolina and financial aid education. She resides in Wilmington with her husband, five-year-old son, and one-year-old daughter.
Aaron Silva
President & CEO
Paladin fs
Mr. Silva is a recognized and respected industry leader and negotiations expert standing for community financial institutions. An entrepreneur and industry veteran since 1991, Aaron founded Paladin fs, LLC in 2007 and launched Golden Contract Coalition in 2016. His invention of the Paladin Blue Book has leveled the playing field in contract negotiations vs. national Core & IT suppliers, gaining his clients more than $300M in cost reduction and $100M in merger value accretion. In 2018 Silva expanded Paladin to include the Fintech Advantage division, now addressing the anticipated adoption of fintech services within the industry. By the end of 2019, the GCC will have more than $1B in combined contract value – the largest banking association focused exclusively on developing a fair “Golden” contract standard that all Core, IT and Fintech suppliers will ultimately adopt in order to do business with this industry.
Dan Schleitweiler
Assistant Vice President of Risk Management
Cooperative Business Services
Daniel Schleitweiler serves as the Assistant Vice President and Department Head of Risk Analytics at CBS. Dan is responsible for data analytics research and reporting and monitoring industry trends within commercial real estate. In addition, Dan provides critical oversight in monitoring and managing risk trends for CBS and its credit union clients by utilizing CBS’s 20 years of historical performance and industry benchmarks, including NCUA, FDIC, and Federal Reserve data. Dan also supported and launched ExRA, an executive risk analytics software as a service for CBS, in 2022.
Dan is skilled in Microsoft Office, SQL, Power BI, and Ad hoc report writing through various databases and core loan systems. Additionally, Dan utilizes his talent to create senior management reports on market feasibility and segmentation of the CBS portfolio.
Dan is a graduate of Miami University of Oxford and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. He holds a Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert (“CUERME”) certification as well.
Andrew Okolski
Director of Credit Union Strategies
The Baker Group
Andrew Okolski is the Director of Credit Union Strategies at The Baker Group. He works directly with clients in a broad range of areas including ALM, education, portfolio management, interest rate risk management, strategic planning, regulatory issues, and wholesale market strategies for credit unions. Before joining the firm, he spent fifteen years building and managing a financial strategies group at a New York broker/dealer with a specific focus on the credit union industry. Andy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Long Island University.
Adel Nathani
Enterprise Account Executive
Glia
Adel Nathani is an Account Executive at Glia, with a 15 year career in Financial Services and Member Experience. He currently works with Credit Unions to transform their digital support capabilities, improve efficiencies across multiple lines of business, and drive increases in digital conversions as well as member experience. Outside of work, Adel enjoys hiking, reading and exploring all Charlotte has to offer.
Stephen Morse
Director of Credit Unions
Zest AI
Stephen has over two decades of experience in financial services, Fintech and Artificial Intelligence (AI)in both the US and globally. He has frequently worked within early stage, transformational, financialtechnology firms servicing banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. At Zest AI, Stephen isresponsible for credit union relationships on the East Coast.
Zest AI works with credit unions to help automate and transform their lending business, with AI poweredunderwriting. This enables credit unions to grow safely, say yes to more members with more inclusiveunderwriting, and to provide better service to members. Zest AI was recognised as new CUSO of theYear 2022, by NACUSO.
Stephen’s alma mater is NC State University. He’s a frequent speaker at events on the subjects of Fintechand AI.
Jonathan Manousaridis
Social Media Manager
Eltropy
Jonny Manousaridis is Social Media and Customer expert with team Eltropy. As an experienced digital marketing professional in the financial tech space, coupled with his unique combination of content creation, has lent him to become a passionate and well-educated speaker on the overall landscape.
Adam Lee
Senior Manager
CUNA Mutual’s DEI Services
Adam is developing and launching products that will support credit unions’ DEI journeys. Adam has been working in the credit union system for nine years as a former Senior Project Manager for CUNA Mutual Group and as the Incubator Director for Filene Research Institute. At Filene, Adam led a team to test and scale innovative products that advance financial equity. Prior to his time
with credit unions, Adam supported communities as a Senior Consultant for Deloitte’s Federal Strategy and Operations Division and as a leader in two AmeriCorps community service programs. Adam lives in Madison, WI with his two daughters and dog Hudson.
Jami Jennings
Director of Digital Channels
VisiFI
Jami Jennings is the Director of Digital Channels at VisiFI, an industry-leading software solutions and services provider. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Jami completed many study abroad programs in England and Costa Rica before moving back to the States, where subsequently she obtained degrees in business and marketing from Samford University. Upon graduation, she began her career as an adjunct professor before moving into the financial services industry as an advisor for Wells Fargo Financial. In 2009, she joined VisiFI (formerly known as EPL) as a Business Analyst and focused her expertise on building credit and debit card solutions for the i-POWER® core system. From there, Jami moved into a management role, assembling and leading a team who developed and implemented business intelligence (BI) applications within the core and later led a team to design and develop VisiFI’s award-winning Digital Banking application. She is a keynote speaker and a regular contributor to credit union industry publications for digital banking, including Credit Union Times, CUToday.info and Banking.com.
Starla Honea
Senior Vice President of Solutions
CU*South
Starla is an experienced leader in the credit union technology and consulting industry. Over the past 15 years, she has worked very closely with credit union staff from several perspectives. Those credit union perspectives include managing software support, guiding credit unions through the conversion process, and consulting with credit union executives and their board on their core technology due diligence. In the ever so evolving credit union landscape our technology is essential to growing and competing in the industry, please join an expert in learning how to navigate your due diligence cycle.
James Gukeisen
Senior Manager of Advocacy and Outreach
Trellance
James Gukeisen has been part of the credit union movement for over 21 years. He is the Senior Manager of Advocacy and Outreach for Trellance, Inc.
James has extensive experience with debit, credit and general-purpose reloadable card programs, issuer and merchant funded rewards, vendor management and client management.
Over the last several years James has worked with product teams nationally and across the globe developing credit union specific use cases for the industry’s emerging talent and technology solutions.
James is a Credit Union Development Educator, Certified Credit Union Executive, Certified Financial Services Professional and Certified Financial Management Specialist.
Suzi Grigg
Member, Financial Services & Bankruptcy Practice Group
Nexsen Pruet
Suzi focuses her legal practice in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights. Throughout the course of any given day, Suzi works with a variety of financial institutions from credit unions to traditional banks to mezzanine lenders. Her practice covers the entire state of South Carolina. Whether it is negotiating with pro se Debtors or arguing cases in the South Carolina Court of Appeals Suzi holds her respect of the law in high regard and treats everyone as she would want to be treated.
Glenn Grau
Senior Vice President, Sales
PWCampbell
As Senior Vice President of Sales and a member of PWCampbell’s Planning Committee, Glenn is charged with leading the business development team for the company and assisting clients through the re-imagination of their retail branch network. He also helps guide them through the construction process, from program and design development into post construction, ensuring quality and client satisfaction every step of the way.
Glenn spent over 10 years in key management roles for Dollar Bank where he was responsible for twelve branch locations, managed 100 employees and oversaw assets of $2 billion. This experience, combined with his extensive knowledge in the design-build arena, makes him an authority on branching. Working with hundreds of banks and credit unions to optimize their retail branch network and operations space over the past two decades has enabled him to speak to the latest branching trends, methods to revitalize branch networks for peak performance and profitability, and optimum space planning for operational efficiency and future growth. Glenn has a distinctive knack for blending his diverse understanding of banking, construction, and marketing to provide effective solutions for clients of every size.
Tim Gardner
EVP/CFO
CDC Federal Credit Union
Currently – Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer, CDC Federal Credit Union in Atlanta, Georgia with over $400M in assets and approximately 20,000 members. He oversees the investment portfolio, accounting, operations, lending, branches, and the member contact center.
Previously — Tim was a Sales Executive at CUNA Mutual Group that covered Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, serving 40 credit unions.
During his time at CUNA Mutual Group, he was also the General Manager for Sales and Distribution in the European Segment of CUNA Mutual’s International Division. Tim lead the sales account teams in Europe, managed the Financial Services Programs, as well as third party relationships while based in Dublin, Ireland.
Prior to joining CUNA Mutual, Tim was the Financial Analyst for Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union in Washington, D.C. He was responsible for the investment portfolio and preparation of the monthly financial statements. Earlier, Tim was an investment analyst at Merrill Lynch while attending college.
Tim attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree in Finance, Upper Iowa University for a Bachelor in Accounting, has received an MBA with an emphasis in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago, and his Masters of Accountancy from the University of Michigan.
CDC Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and provides financial services to its members.
CUNA Mutual Group is headquartered at the Credit Union Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and provides insurance and financial services to credit unions and their members.
Maureen Frazer-Monroe
Business Coaching
TalentGuided Services
A former competitive skydiver, race car driver and on-stage improvisor, Maureen knows that stepping out of our individual comfort zones can promote personal growth and learning. As a certified coach and senior learning & development professional, Maureen brings this personal growth philosophy into her practice.
Her coaching style is grounded in a process that supports and helps people recognize their true talents, skills and passion. Thus, moving them closer to realizing their full potential and achieving their work and life goals.
Over the last 14 years, Maureen has worked with global organizations to create and deliver customized leadership development experiences to achieve business results. She has helped develop people from all levels of the organization, from early career to new and experienced middle managers and senior executives. Her industry specializations include financial and professional services, manufacturing, insurance, and universities.
Joe Dickinson
Member, Intellectual Property Practice Group
Nexsen Pruet
Joe leads Nexsen Pruet’s cybersecurity, privacy, data management and information governance practice. He has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of data use, privacy, and cybersecurity. Joe has worked with clients in the development of data privacy/security programs, global breach response, cross-border data transfers, HIPAA, GDPR, CAN-SPAM, FTC, PCI-DSS and CCPA compliance, due diligence involving all aspects of data as a component of the transaction, technology licensing and transfer agreements, contracts involving data flows, and management of the related legal risks and obligations, intellectual property and information technology, governmental privacy-related investigations, and internal investigations related to corporate compliance. Before re-entering private practice, Joe served in-house as Chief Privacy and Chief Information Security Officer for a large Midwest academic medical system. He also managed the legal issues associated with global data sharing for a Big 4 accounting/consulting firm.
Mark Cox
President and CEO
Innovative Business Solutions
Mark Cox is the President and CEO of Innovative Business Solutions, LLC, a Commercial Loan CUSO located in Columbia, SC and wholly owned by 7 credit unions in SC and NC. IBS provides total back office support for a credit union’s commercial lending activities, including credit analysis and recommendations, annual reviews, management of the appraisal process, loan document generation, and servicing. The company also provides consulting services around commercial lending, including lender credit training and sales training, and participation arrangement services for its credit unions. Mark joined IBS in late 2013 after 35 years in commercial banking. After 18 years with Wachovia, where he served in roles on both the credit side and as a commercial lender and an agricultural lender, he joined the real world and was CFO of a large agricultural related company for 5 years. Mark then went back into banking when he joined Regions Bank, where he served in several commercial lending roles over a 10 year period, including commercial & industrial lending and commercial real estate lending, where he handled traditional commercial real estate loans such as office and industrial properties, and was very active in the affordable housing finance arena financing over 10 Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects totaling over $100 million. As a producing City President, he had oversight of both the commercial and consumer sides of the bank and a $400 million portfolio. He finished his banking career with Capital Bank as a commercial lender. A native of Columbia, SC, he has spent his career serving business clients in the Southeast US. Mark is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking of the South at LSU, the Wachovia Credit Administration School and the RMA Commercial Lending School at East Carolina University.
Brooks Bossong
Member, Financial Services & Bankruptcy Practice Group
Nexsen Pruet
As a member of the firm’s Financial Services and Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights practice groups, Brooks works with banks, credit unions, direct lenders, and servicers with a focus on creditors’ rights and special assets, regulatory compliance, and secured lending. He represents financial institutions throughout North Carolina in the workout of troubled debt restructurings, and assists financial institutions facing government investigations and examinations. When workouts are no longer viable options in the problem loan context, Brooks is in court handling the recovery of debts and collateral (and defending creditors if borrowers or guarantors assert lender liability claims). Brooks has a statewide practice and is routinely in state and federal court (including bankruptcy court).
Milind Borkar
Founder & CEO
Illuma
Dr. Milind Borkar is the Founder and CEO of Illuma, a CUSO specializing in real-time voice authentication and fraud prevention solutions for credit unions. Author of 14 technical publications and inventor on 21 patents, Dr. Borkar launched over 50 hi-tech products during his career with Texas Instruments prior to becoming a FinTech founder. The company’s flagship Illuma ShieldTM platform replaces traditional knowledge-based authentication with an effortless and secure voice biometric solution, delivering an elevated member experience, enhanced security, and improved operational efficiency. Illuma ShieldTM is frequently showcased at Finovate events and has recently won awards from VentureTech, CreditUnions.com, and NACUSO.
Thomas D. Bonds
President of the Credit Union Division
NBC Securities, Inc.
Thomas D. Bonds serves as the President of the Credit Union Division of NBC Securities, Inc. Formed in 2012, this division (Bonds Capital Group) focuses exclusively on providing credit unions with securities that assist them in navigating these uncertain economic times. Mr. Bonds has a unique resume that has allowed him to have experience on all sides of investment transactions and he shares the knowledge he has gained from that experience with credit unions nationwide.
He began his career with NCUA in 1990 and served as a District Examiner, Principal Examiner, Supervision Analyst, Corporate Examiner, and Problem Case Officer. Until his departure from NCUA in 1998 he had duty stations in Knoxville, Atlanta, Birmingham and New York.
In 1998 Mr. Bonds began his service at Corporate America Credit Union. He served as President and CEO from 2000 through 2012. During that time he moved Corporate America Credit Union forward with increased productivity and the development and utilization of new funds management theories. Due to the investment and ALM practices implemented by Mr. Bonds, members of Corporate America suffered no losses to their capital during the corporate crisis. Credit unions throughout the country responded to this success as evidenced by the growth in assets from $350 million to $4.2 billion. In recognition of his leadership, Mr. Bonds was awarded the Credit Union Times Trailblazer CEO of the Year Award in 2011.
Mr. Bonds is an attorney and a CPA and is currently a member of the American Bar Association, the Alabama Bar Association, AICPA and Alabama Society of CPAs.
Karan Bhalla
Chief Growth Officer
Trellance
Karan is Chief Growth Officer at Trellance and has two decades of financial services and data analytics experience, having worked and consulted for leading corporations such as Capital One, AmEx, BT and Fannie Mae. He now uses this experience to level the playing field for small and mid-size financial institutions. He is a regular presenter at industry events that include Co-op’s Summit, Predictive Analytics World, Western Independent Bankers, NWCUA, and CCUL’s Reach among others. He has MIS and Accounting degrees from Virginia Tech and an MBA in Finance from the University of Maryland. When he’s not at work, Karan can often be found outdoors spending time with his sons.