TheOutlier Podcast

Welcome to a brand-new episode of The Outlier Podcast ! In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with an incredible young leader making waves in the financial sector: Kevin Hall, CIO of WESTconsin Credit Union . Tune in as Kevin shares his inspiring, non-traditional career journey—from starting out with aspirations of becoming a high school history teacher to cutting his teeth in IT at Kwi...

Welcome back to a brand-new episode of The Outlier Podcast, hosted by Anurag Mukherjee! In this episode, we sit down with industry veteran Rohit Nagpal, President and CEO for the Americas + Lumiq, for a masterclass in resilience, B2B sales, and the evolution of enterprise artificial intelligence. Rohit takes us back to his humble beginnings arriving in the U.S. in 2001, starting his career by cold...

Welcome to another power-packed, insight-driven episode of The Outlier Podcast ! In this episode, your host Anurag sits down with an exceptional financial leader, Dan Carey , Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cambridge Savings Bank . Join us as we pull back the curtain on modern banking, community finance, and the tectonic shifts happening across the financial services indust...

Welcome to another episode of The Outlier Podcast ! In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Neil Gordon , Chief Financial Officer at Lighthouse Credit Union (formerly Northeast Credit Union). With over two decades of experience across financial services—spanning major global institutions like Bank of America, community banks, and credit unions—Neil shares his journey from corporate f...

Welcome to a brand-new episode of The Outlier Podcast ! In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Neville Billimoria, Chief Marketing Officer at Mission Fed Credit Union , the largest financial institution exclusively serving San Diego County. With over four decades of experience in marketing and a background that spans entrepreneurship, agency acquisition, and more than 24 years of vi...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast , host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Umesh Babaria , Head of Consumer Analytics, AI, and Physical Distribution Strategy at KeyBank, for an insightful discussion on executive leadership, generative AI in banking, and the intersection of finance and enterprise strategy. Umesh shares his journey from arriving in the US in 2001 to earning his MBA at the Univers...

Is artificial intelligence truly driving measurable business value in banking, or is it mostly hype? In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with industry leaders Scott Kuhlman, Chief AI Officer at Wings Financial Credit Union, and Sumeet Bhalla, Chief Lending Officer at PenFed Credit Union, for an insightful roundtable discussion on the practical realities of AI ad...

Welcome to another episode of The Outlier Podcast! In this episode, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with legendary tech entrepreneur and computer scientist Mohit Aron, Founder & CEO of a new stealth startup, Co-Founder of Nutanix, and Founder of Cohesity. Widely recognized as the "Father of Hyperconvergence," Mohit traces his journey from studying computer science at IIT Delhi and ea...

How Agentic AI, Cloud Modernization, and Engineering Are Transforming Consumer Lending | The Outlier Podcast Welcome to another insightful episode of The Outlier Podcast ! In this episode, host Anurag sits down with Deepak Nayak , Director of Product Engineering in Consumer Lending at Citizens Bank , to explore the massive technological shift taking place across financial services and banking tech...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast , host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Jennifer Smith , former CIO of Zions Bancorporation and a recognized veteran in financial services, to explore her career journey, modernizing legacy systems, AI integration in regulated banking, and female executive leadership. Jennifer shares her path from studying economics to spending nearly two decades at Zions Banc...

Welcome back to another episode of The Outlier Podcast! Hosted by Anurag Mukherjee, this episode dives deep into the intersection of technology, credit unions, data science, and modern leadership with Kevan Williamson, Chief Technology Officer at Georgia’s Own Credit Union. In this episode, Kevan shares his 25+ year journey in technology—spanning over 15 years in the credit union ecosystem—and ref...

Welcome to another episode of The Outlier Podcast! Host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with DJ Seeterlin, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer at Chesapeake Bank, to explore the rapidly shifting landscape of payments, community banking, and financial technology. DJ shares his journey from IT and computer engineering to becoming an "accidental banker" leading national payment processing, mer...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Eric Cardona, Vice President of Technology at Provident Credit Union (Bay Area, CA). With over two decades of experience in banking technology, Eric shares key insights into how financial institutions are evolving to meet modern digital expectations, leveraging artificial intelligence, and safeguarding systems against sop...

Are physical bank branches dead, or are they evolving into the ultimate hub for customer connection? In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Ali Ayca, Head of Retail Banking at First Bank, to dissect the true power of human connection in modern retail banking, the real role of AI, and what it takes to build an outlier career in finance. Ali Ayca shares his insp...

Welcome to another episode of The Outlier Podcast , hosted by Anurag Mukherjee ! In this episode, we sit down with Chris Keller , Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Empower Credit Union , to dive deep into modern growth strategies, human-centered marketing in financial services, and how credit unions can compete at scale. With a non-linear background starting in biomedical engineering, startup incub...

Welcome to another episode of The Outlier Podcast , hosted by Anurag Mukherjee. In this episode, we sit down with Kirun Amiri , the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Entravision , to explore the intersection of data science, artificial intelligence governance, and business-first technology leadership. Kirun discusses her extensive 23-year career trajectory, tracing her evolution from a 17-year te...

The retail banking infrastructure landscape is undergoing a massive shift. In this episode of The Outlier Podcast , host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Adam K , Chief Strategy Officer at Dort Financial Credit Union , to unpack the winning strategy for mid-sized credit unions over the next three to five years. With more than 30 years of deep marketing and senior corporate strategy experience, Adam...

How do regional and community financial institutions compete when mega-banks boast $15 billion technology budgets and fintech apps offer instant account openings? The secret isn't matching their capital—it's mastering the emotional currency of trust, speed, and purpose-driven engagement. In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with John D. Metcalf, Senior Vice Presi...

The consumer lending ecosystem is undergoing a massive paradigm shift. In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Adam Boyd, the newly appointed President of Consumer Lending at Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate).With a distinguished 25-year career spanning major institutions like Bank of America, TD Bank, and Citizens, Adam breaks down what it takes to scale a lendi...

This conversation is a practical, no-fluff look at how a community-based credit union competes against digital-first banks and fintechs, how AI is being deployed in real banking operations, and what genuine, service-driven leadership looks like. Who is Simon Powley? A U.S. Navy veteran turned financial services executive, Simon serves military families and the wider Kitsap Peninsula community in W...

The banking infrastructure landscape is in the middle of a massive renaissance. In this in-person episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee engages in a candid, technical conversation with Jason, Chief Information Officer of First Advantage Federal Credit Union. Drawing from his 30 years of IT infrastructure and security management, Jason pulls back the curtain on how First Advantage h...

In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Duncan J. Taylor, CEO of the Washington Bankers Association (WBA) in Seattle, to unpack what's actually holding community banks back—and what it will take to compete in 2025 and beyond. Duncan argues that the single biggest threat to community banking isn't regulation or interest rates—it's mindset. Banks have...

How does a values-led credit union grow sticky deposits, become the second-largest solar lender in the U.S., and roll out AI in its call center — all without losing the human connection? In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee talks with Michael Brouillet, a senior executive at Credit Human in San Antonio, Texas, who oversees business operations and deposits. Michael shares h...

In this episode of The Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Josh Houde, VP of Marketing at Blue Federal Credit Union, to explore how modern credit unions can win in a hyper-competitive financial services landscape. With nearly 20 years of experience across major banks (Wells Fargo) and three credit unions (Canvas Credit Union, Credit Union of Colorado, and now Blue Federal Credit...

In this episode of the Outlier Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Dave Valentine, Chief Lending & Experience Officer at Consumers Credit Union (Illinois), recorded live from Las Vegas. With 20+ years in financial services — including roles at BCU, Motorola Employees Credit Union (Andigo), and Wells Fargo — Dave shares hard-won lessons on running lending, marketing, and member experi...