Credit union and community bank executives gather on California’s central coast for a summit built around research from Gallup, Callahan and Filene
Eltropy, the agentic AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), today announced that its annual Leadership Summit will take place August 24-26, 2026, at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California. The summit is an invitation-only gathering for C-suite and executive leaders at credit unions and community banks, with more than 90 CFI executives expected to attend.
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.”
— Rob Hoyle, Chief People & Technology Officer, Vantage West Credit Union
Sessions will run Tuesday through Wednesday morning, organized around three themes: the economy, artificial intelligence and growth. Tuesday’s keynote session comes from Gallup, built around a tension CFI leaders are navigating on two fronts at once: members under real financial pressure, and employees facing uncertainty about what AI means for their jobs. Drawing on its research on financial wellbeing and workforce engagement, Gallup will argue the answer to both is hope, something only a human leader can provide. Gallup returns later in the day to lead a joint strategy workshop with Filene Research.
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Callahan will present on the economic signals and shifts facing CFI leaders in the year ahead, and Filene will lead its own session on member connection. Eltropy will close out the AI conversation with a session on agentic AI, echoing a line Ashish Garg, Eltropy co-founder and CEO, returns to often on his podcast, Human x AI: Unscripted: AI is only as good as the person directing it. The summit closes Wednesday with a keynote from Garg titled “Leading What’s Next.”
“For most of this event’s history we’ve held it in the mountains. This year we wanted our customers looking out at something that moves,” said Garg. “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.”
“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,” said Rob Hoyle, Chief People and Technology Officer at Vantage West Credit Union. “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.”
The summit opens Monday with arrivals and a private dinner inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s deep sea exhibit. Optional activities throughout the week include a guided hike at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, a kayak outing in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and a whale watching trip during the bay’s peak summer feeding season. Tuesday closes with a sunset dinner on the beach. The summit concludes Wednesday at noon following the closing keynote.
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