You’re a credit union executive staring down two very different—but equally urgent—problems. Your members are stressed about money. Your employees are wondering if AI is coming for their jobs. Now imagine trying to solve both at once.
That’s the conversation happening at the Eltropy Leadership Summit this August, and it’s not taking place in some windowless convention center. Instead, 90+ C-suite leaders from credit unions and community banks will gather August 24-26, 2026, at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, where the view includes actual ocean waves instead of recycled PowerPoint decks.
The invitation-only event is hosted by Eltropy, whose agentic AI platform helps community financial institutions (think credit unions and smaller banks) handle member conversations. But this isn’t your typical vendor conference. The speaker lineup reads more like a who’s-who of financial research: Gallup, Callahan, and Filene are all bringing data-backed insights to the table.
The Real Talk: Economy, AI, and Growth
Sessions run Tuesday through Wednesday morning, built around three themes that keep CFI leaders up at night: the economy, artificial intelligence, and growth. No fluff, no filler—just the stuff that actually matters.
Tuesday’s keynote comes from Gallup, and they’re tackling that dual pressure point head-on. Members facing financial strain. Employees anxious about AI replacing them. Gallup’s take? The answer to both is hope—and only human leaders can deliver it. They’re backing this up with their research on financial wellbeing and workforce engagement, which is a fancy way of saying they’ve studied what actually works.
Later, Gallup teams up with Filene Research for a joint strategy workshop. Meanwhile, Callahan will decode the economic signals CFI leaders need to watch in the year ahead, and Filene gets its own session on member connection.
AI Is Only As Good As the Human Behind It
Eltropy closes out the AI conversation with a session on agentic AI—basically, AI that can take action, not just answer questions. It echoes something Ashish Garg, Eltropy’s co-founder and CEO, says repeatedly on his podcast Human x AI: Unscripted: AI is only as good as the person directing it.
The summit wraps Wednesday with Garg’s closing keynote, “Leading What’s Next.” No pressure there.
“For most of this event’s history we’ve held it in the mountains,” said Garg. “This year we wanted our customers looking out at something that moves. Put that setting next to research from Gallup, Callahan and Filene, and the conversations tend to go further than they would in a hotel ballroom.”
Why This Summit Hits Different
Rob Hoyle, Chief People and Technology Officer at Vantage West Credit Union, put it this way: “Many conferences recycle the same ideas year after year. The Eltropy Leadership Summit is different—it challenges conventional thinking and brings fresh, practical innovation to the conversation. I leave every summit with ideas I can immediately apply to improve both the employee and member experience. The opportunity to collaborate with forward-thinking credit union leaders and learn from organizations like Gallup and Filene delivers value that extends far beyond our time at the summit.”
Translation? You actually walk away with stuff you can use, not just a tote bag full of vendor swag.
Because All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Executive
The summit kicks off Monday with arrivals and a private dinner inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s deep sea exhibit. (Yes, you read that right—dinner with the fishes, but in the coolest way possible.)
Throughout the week, optional activities include a guided hike at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, kayaking in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and whale watching during peak summer feeding season. Tuesday closes with a sunset dinner on the beach, because sometimes the best strategy sessions happen with your toes in the sand.
The summit wraps at noon Wednesday after the closing keynote, giving everyone time to either extend their stay or head home with their heads full of ideas and their phones full of whale photos.