TheOutlier Podcast

In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Anubhav — Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of ShiftMate AI — to unpack a journey that took him from a small town near the Odisha-Jharkhand border to building one of the most exciting FinTech platforms in the credit union space. Anubhav shares how his pivot from JP Morgan Payments to a U.S. master's program became...

How should community banks compete with fintechs, grow deposits, and rethink the branch in 2026? Brian McEvoy, Chief Retail Officer at Webster Five Bank, joins The Outlier Podcast to share a candid playbook for the future of retail and community banking. In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Brian — a retail banking leader with deep experience at TD Bank and Cynoverse before steppi...

How does a CIO lead a credit union from $5 billion to $10 billion in assets? In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Anil Choudary, Chief Information Officer at Keesler Federal Credit Union, to unpack the real playbook behind large-scale technology transformation in financial services. With a career that spans GE (where he helped build a digital bank), Goldman...

How does a modern financial institution move from legacy "bottlenecks" to an Agentic AI future? In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Amit Nandy , Chief Information Officer at Educational Systems Federal Credit Union (ESFCU) . With over two decades of experience spanning credit unions and community banks, Amit provides a masterclass on balancing technical innovation with...

What does it take to rise from a frontline teller to the President and CEO of one of Nevada's most forward-thinking credit unions? In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Steve O'Donnell, the newly appointed President and CEO of One Nevada Credit Union, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steve's story is rare in financial services. He has spent nearly thre...

What makes human banking irreplaceable in an age of AI? Chris Boler, CXO of ORNL Federal Credit Union, shares lessons on member experience, branch strategy, culture, and leading with purpose. Full Description: What does it take to build a $4.5 billion credit union rooted in genuine human connection — in an era where technology can do almost everything? In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, Anura...

What does it actually take to modernize a $4.1 billion credit union without breaking everything in the process? In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Sean VanHandel, Chief Information Officer of CoVantage Credit Union based in Antigo, Wisconsin. Sean brings nearly three decades of technology experience spanning healthcare, manufacturing, and financial service...

What does it actually take to modernize a bank — and why are the best-performing institutions the ones moving fastest? Jody Bhagat, President of North America at Engine by Starling, joins The Outlier Podcast to answer that and much more. About This Episode The banking industry is at a genuine tipping point. Neobanks like Chime are capturing over 40% of new checking account openings nationally — ou...

Can a credit union really compete with Chase and Chime? Sunward Federal Credit Union's EVP Alex De La Cruz says yes — and he's got the numbers to prove it. Alex brings nearly two decades of financial services experience across Bank of America, First Tech Federal Credit Union, TDECU, and Teachers Federal Credit Union before joining Sunward in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today he leads retail,...

John Fede, CIO of Hudson Valley Credit Union, has spent over 30 years in technology across government, publishing, consulting, and financial services. In this conversation, he gets honest about the unglamorous work that has to happen before innovation is even possible — fixing data infrastructure, building AI governance, scaling automation, and maturing cybersecurity — and why skipping those steps...

What does intentional leadership look like at GAC 2025 — and what does it mean to redefine membership growth in the credit union industry? In this live episode of The Outlier Podcast, recorded at GAC in Washington D.C., Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Brian Waldron, CEO of Dort Financial Credit Union, for a candid conversation on employee engagement, strategic growth, and why credit unions need to...

What does a history major who taught himself to code have to teach CIOs about innovation? Quite a lot, it turns out. In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Jonathan Cilley, CIO of Mid Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, for a wide-ranging conversation on technology leadership, calculated risk-taking, and what the next five years could look like for credit union tec...

What does it take to grow a credit union without indirect lending — and still win? In this live episode recorded at the 2026 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington D.C., Anurag Mukherjee sits down with two senior executives from Indiana Members Credit Union (IMCU) to break down the strategies driving one of Indiana's most respected credit unions forward. In this episode, you'll learn:Wh...

In this live episode of The Outlier Podcast recorded at GAC 2026 in Washington D.C., host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Cathy Graham and Jeremy Nelson from Desert Financial Credit Union — one of the most forward-thinking credit unions in the country — for a candid conversation on growth, relevance, AI, and what credit unions must get right in the next 24 months. What is Desert Financial Credit U...

In this episode, Anurag sits down with Cydni Tetro, CIO of Swire Coca-Cola and a legendary "technology mogul" of the CPG and retail space. They explore Cydni’s "Blue Sky" philosophy of innovation, the rapid evolution of AI in manufacturing and consumer experience, and her mission to fix the "broken rung" for women in STEM.Key Takeaways & Timestamps1. The "Blu...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Jim Lawrence, the Chief Revenue and Experience Officer at Partners Federal Credit Union. With over 26 years of experience at major institutions like Wachovia and Wells Fargo, Jim shares why he transitioned to the credit union movement and how he is redefining the intersection of financial growth and member-centric service...

In this episode, we sit down with Eric Givens, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Arizona Financial Credit Union. Eric shares his 17-year journey from the front lines of the 2008 financial crisis to leading the charge in credit union innovation. We dive deep into the strategic implementation of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), the reality of integrating AI in financial services, and wh...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee interviews Arindam, Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of Bank OZK (Nasdaq: OZK). This technical discussion explores the intersection of risk management strategy, AI data infrastructure, and banking leadership. Arindam provides a framework for shifting risk management from a defensive hurdle to a strategic growth engine. He introduces the concept...

This was a fantastic conversation with Steve Greig, Chief Marketing Officer at Redwood Credit Union. Steve brings a fascinating perspective to the credit union movement, having transitioned from global powerhouses like Kellogg’s, Heineken, and Visa, as well as the fast-paced world of Fintech (Varo).In this episode, we dive deep into how a brand maintains hyper-local relevance in a diverse market l...

The End of "Vaporware" AI: How credit unions are moving past the hype to scale AI in fraud detection, HR job descriptions, and automated underwriting. Lending at the Speed of Light: Why manual approvals are a relic of the past and how automation (via Zest AI and Blend) is now a requirement for survival. The Culture of Innovation: How to "activate" a workforce to embrace AI inst...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Roger Ballard, CEO of Nuvision Credit Union, as he shares his remarkable 30+ year journey in the credit union industry—from starting as a computer specialist at Golden One Credit Union to leading a $4 billion institution serving 200,000+ members across five states.🔑 Key Topics Covered:Leadership & Growth StrategyScaling from $600M to $4B: Roger's...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Nick Riegal, VP of Marketing at Ascend Federal Credit Union, as he shares his unconventional journey from retail and restaurant marketing to leading brand strategy at one of Tennessee's largest credit unions. What You'll Learn:Brand Positioning & StrategyNick reveals how Ascend recently completed an 8-10 month brand positioning exercise, movi...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Hashim Forrester, Senior Vice President of Remote Service Delivery at WESCOM Credit Union, as he shares his unique journey from tech giants like Uber and Capital One to the credit union movement. KEY INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE:Career Transition Strategy:Hashim's pivotal career moment involved relocating from Southern California to Buffalo, New York,...

This week, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Ryan Marosy, VP of Marketing at Affinity Federal Credit Union, for an insightful conversation about marketing in the credit union space, the evolution of digital marketing, and competing against big banks and fintechs with limited budgets. What We Cover:✅ Ryan's Marketing Journey - From journalism school to agency life, working with billion-doll...

Welcome to another episode of Outlier Podcast! In this conversation, host Anurag sits down with Rick Kapur, Chief Experience Officer at Chevron Federal Credit Union, to discuss the future of member experience, digital transformation, and sustainable growth in credit unions.🎯 Key Topics Covered:Member Experience ExcellenceWhy "frictionless relevance" is the new North Star for credit unio...