TheOutlier Podcast

Building the AI Brain for Credit Unions ft. Anubhav, Co-founder & CPO of ShiftMate AI

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 the turning point that led him to fall in love with the credit union movement — an industry built on the simple but powerful idea of people helping people. In this conversation, we cover: * Anubhav's journey from Odisha → engineering → JP Morgan → masters in the U.S. → co-founding ShiftMate AI * What ShiftMate AI actually does: the growth brain that sits between a credit union's people and platforms * Why "bolting on AI" to every system is creating 10x activity but not 10x outcomes * The case for an orchestration layer that senses real-time member signals, executes value-first actions, and stays compliant and auditable * Why community banks and credit unions are the "third place" for members — and how that becomes their real competitive moat against the Bank of Americas of the world * The biggest technological challenge facing credit unions today: great platforms, but no unifying growth brain * Where the credit union movement is headed amid industry consolidation About ShiftMate AIShiftMate AI is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) built by credit union insiders, backed by credit union investors, and developed in partnership with credit unions themselves. Its platform turns real-time member signals into compliant, policy-driven, value-first actions — and closes the loop by measuring what strategies actually worked. Chapters00:00 Intro00:29 Meet Anubhav — from Odisha to the U.S.02:56 Life as a co-founder and CPO04:37 What is ShiftMate AI?06:45 Analytics, AI, and the frontier of LLMs08:14 Why bolting on AI doesn't 10x outcomes10:04 The mission: people helping people12:15 The biggest tech challenge for credit unions today13:51 Closing thoughts 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with outliers building at the edge of FinTech, AI, and community finance. #CreditUnions #FinTech #AI #ShiftMateAI #OutlierPodcast #CommunityBanking #ProductLeadership #Founders Want me to tighten this up, make it shorter, punch it up for a specific platform tone, or add anything (guest socials, sponsor mention, CTA links)?

What's the Future of Community Banking? Brian McEvoy, CRO at Webster Five Bank

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 stepping into his current role at Webster Five — to unpack the strategic questions every community bank executive is wrestling with right now. What you'll learn in this episode: * Why the era of the "primary bank" is fading, and what consumers' multi-bank wallets mean for community institutions * The biggest underserved opportunity in retail banking today: small business customers stuck between branch-level micro accounts and full commercial banking * How to balance deposit growth with new household acquisition — and why it's not a 50/50 split * Why community banks can't afford to bet wrong on digital, and how Webster Five evaluates fintech API integrations * The real role of data and hyper-personalization — and why blanket marketing campaigns no longer work * Brian's honest take on the future of the bank branch: why physical locations still matter as a trust signal, even as transactions go digital * Why "don't chase Chase" is the right mindset for community bank branch strategy * How small businesses still expect a relationship manager, and what that means for branch staffing Key moments: (00:00) Introduction to Brian McEvoy and Webster Five Bank(01:32) What keeps a retail banking leader going(02:53) The future of retail banking and the erosion of "primacy"(05:19) Small business banking: the biggest gap in community banking(06:00) Deposit growth vs. customer acquisition: how to prioritize(09:01) Competing with fintechs through human connection and digital(12:26) Data, AI, and hyper-personalization in retail banking(16:40) The evolving role of the bank branch(20:01) Why community bank stories deserve to be told About the guest:Brian McEvoy is the Chief Retail Officer at Webster Five Bank, a community financial institution based in Massachusetts. He oversees retail branches, the contact center, digital banking, wealth management, and small business banking. His career spans senior leadership roles at TD Bank and Cynoverse, giving him a rare dual perspective across national and community banking. About the host:Anurag Mukherjee hosts The Outlier Podcast, a series of candid, high-signal conversations with banking, credit union, and fintech leaders who challenge the status quo. Each episode is built to be operator-level, sharp, and packed with insight you can apply inside your own institution. Who this episode is for: * Community bank and credit union executives * Retail banking and branch network leaders * Chief retail officers and heads of consumer banking * Fintech founders selling into financial institutions * Small business banking strategists * Digital banking, CRM, and data leaders in financial services If you lead retail at a community bank, run a credit union, or build fintech products for financial institutions, this episode gives you a clear, contrarian view on where retail banking is heading — from someone running it day to day. Subscribe to The Outlier Podcast for more conversations with banking and fintech leaders who think differently. New episodes drop regularly, featuring practitioners who've actually built, scaled, and transformed financial institutions. Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts to help more banking leaders find the show. Topics covered: community banking, retail banking, future of banking, fintech disruption, small business banking, deposit growth, customer acquisition, bank branch strategy, digital banking, hyper-personalization, banking data strategy, embedded finance, challenger banks, relationship banking, banking podcast, retail banking podcast.

"The $10 Billion Credit Union Blueprint | Anil Choudary, CIO Keesler Federal"

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 Sachs, CIBC, and Alliant Credit Union, Anil brings a rare blend of enterprise software engineering, big-bank strategy, and credit union pragmatism. Now leading end-to-end technology at one of the fastest-growing credit unions in the U.S., he shares exactly how he plans to scale Keesler Federal through core banking modernization, API strategy, data lakehouse build-out, automation, and AI. This is a candid, tactical conversation for CIOs, CTOs, banking executives, and fintech leaders trying to navigate the same transformation curve. In this episode, we cover: • Why a CIO's role is to drive both member trust and long-term growth • The 5 building blocks of a modern credit union tech stack: operating model, core banking, API strategy, data and AI strategy, and digital strategy • Why "no-regret decisions" matter most when choosing core banking platforms • How to balance buy vs. build in a vendor-heavy organization • Why data strategy must come before any AI strategy • Why automation should come before agentic AI on your roadmap • How to extract real ROI from every technology dollar invested • Why point solutions break down at enterprise scale • How regional culture and demographics shape technology strategy • What separates credit unions that will reach $10B from those that won't Standout quotes from Anil: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." "Without a foundational data strategy, you cannot deliver value through AI." "Digital is how you deliver a connected experience across all channels — not just web and mobile." "If you're investing a dollar, you need to extract at least 80 cents of value. Hopefully a dollar ten." About the guest: Anil Choudary is the Chief Information Officer at Keesler Federal Credit Union, leading end-to-end technology transformation. His career spans senior leadership roles at GE, Goldman Sachs, CIBC, and Alliant Credit Union, where he has built digital banks, modernized core platforms, and led enterprise-scale transformation programs. About the host: Anurag Mukherjee hosts The Outlier Podcast, a series featuring conversations with forward-thinking technology and business leaders driving real transformation across financial services, banking, and the credit union movement. Who this episode is for: Credit union CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, and CEOs; banking and fintech technology leaders; digital transformation executives; core banking modernization strategists; data and AI leaders; and anyone scaling a financial institution from $1 billion to $10 billion and beyond. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more leaders discover the show. Topics: credit union technology, CIO leadership, digital banking transformation, core banking modernization, API strategy, data lakehouse, member experience, enterprise AI, agentic AI, banking automation, Keesler Federal Credit Union, Alliant Credit Union, Goldman Sachs, CIBC, buy vs build, member 360, data governance, $10 billion credit union, banking culture.

Agentic AI, Contact Centers & Onboarding: Amit Nandy on ESFCU's Real AI Strategy

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 human-centric leadership. Amit breaks down his "measured approach" to AI, explaining why a foundational policy must precede any "arms race." He also introduces a powerful metaphor for modern organizations: IT as the spine—the nervous center that touches every limb of the business. * The Reality of Agentic AI: Moving beyond the hype to practical use cases in ambassador onboarding and contact center modernization. * The Legacy Bottleneck: How to navigate technical debt and the importance of a robust Reference Architecture. * Build vs. Buy: Utilizing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to make high-stakes investment decisions. * The CIO Journey: Why stepping "outside the bubble" into community banking is the secret to strategic leadership. * Leading Through Failure: Adopting a "fail fast" mentality and the art of recalibration. Amit Nandy is the CIO of Educational Systems Federal Credit Union, serving the MD/DC education community. His career highlights include leading large-scale digital transformations and navigating complex M&A integrations. * Follow Anurag Mukherjee on LinkedIn for more insights into fintech and community banking. * Subscribe to stay updated on the latest episodes featuring C-Suite innovators. Keywords: Credit Unions, Amit Nandy, ESFCU, AI in Banking, CIO Strategy, Digital Transformation, Agentic AI, Fintech Leadership, Legacy Systems, EOS.

Stablecoin, Gen AI & the Future of Credit Unions | Steve O'Donnell | One Nevada Credit Union"

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 three decades inside the same organization, moving through roles from teller to CFO to COO and now to the corner office. That journey has given him something most new CEOs simply do not have — a deep, firsthand understanding of every layer of the institution he now leads. But this episode is not just about where Steve has been. It is about where he is taking One Nevada next. What You Will Learn in This Episode In his first four months as CEO, Steve has already introduced stablecoin concepts to his board of directors, joined a fintech stablecoin pilot program, and begun reshaping how One Nevada thinks about member experience, data, and long-term strategy. He is asking the hard questions that every credit union leader needs to be asking right now. How do you compete with Chime, which captured 13% of new checking accounts in Q3, outpacing even Chase at 8%? How do you build a culture of innovation without losing the foundation that made your credit union great? How do you measure member sentiment when NPS scores no longer tell the full story? And how do you prepare your organization for technologies and disruptions that do not even exist yet? Steve answers all of this and more in one of the most candid and forward-thinking conversations we have had on the Outlier Podcast. Episode Highlights Steve's 28-year journey from teller to President and CEO of One Nevada Credit Union Why Chime beating Chase in new checking accounts should alarm every credit union leader How Steve introduced stablecoin to his board and why deposit disintermediation is his number one risk concern One Nevada's stablecoin pilot program and what they are learning from it Why Gen AI is no longer optional for credit unions and financial institutions The problem with going digital first and how it creates new member experience gaps Why Steve is moving away from NPS and building sentiment data instead How to build a three to five year strategic plan in an industry changing faster than ever What a healthy credit union culture looks like and how to evolve it without breaking it What success looks like at the end of Steve's first year as CEO Who Is This Episode For This episode is essential listening for credit union executives, community bank leaders, board members, fintech professionals, financial services strategists, and anyone who wants to understand how mission-driven financial institutions can stay relevant, competitive, and member-focused in a rapidly changing world. If you lead a team, manage organizational change, or are trying to figure out how traditional institutions compete with digital-first challengers, this conversation will give you real frameworks, real thinking, and real inspiration. About Steve O'Donnell Steve O'Donnell, MBA, CCE, is the President and CEO of One Nevada Credit Union, one of Nevada's leading member-owned financial institutions based in Las Vegas. With nearly 28 years at the organization, Steve brings unmatched institutional knowledge combined with a bold, forward-looking vision for the future of credit unions. He is a recognized leader in the credit union movement and a passionate advocate for financial wellness and member-first banking. About One Nevada Credit Union One Nevada Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial institution headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Committed to improving the financial lives of its members, One Nevada offers a full range of banking products and services with a strong focus on innovation, digital experience, and community impact.