2025 Synergent Connect Conference Agenda
Monday, August 11
9:30-10:30 am:
Registration
10:30 am-11:30 am:
Symitar User Group Meeting (Symitar CUs only)
This exclusive session is designed for Symitar users to connect, collaborate, and explore practical ways to get more from the core. Attendees will take part in an engaging, solutions-focused experience that includes interactive activities, real-world demonstrations, and peer-led insights.
Highlights include:
- A fun and fast-paced Symitar-themed Jeopardy to kick off collaboration and knowledge sharing
- Guidance on effective procedure development and leveraging Symitar functionality in daily operations
- A look at tools like Member Classification, Member Interaction Tracker, and Average Daily Balance, with tips for driving efficiency and deeper insights
- A sneak peek at exciting new tools designed to simplify daily tasks and enhance member service
- A review of progress made based on user feedback from last year’s Connect event, plus an open discussion to shape future priorities
Whether you’re looking to discover new techniques, refine existing processes, or simply connect with fellow users, this session will leave you with practical takeaways and renewed energy for what’s possible with Symitar.
11:30 am-12:00 pm:
Break, Registration
12:00 pm-1:00 pm:
Lunch
Enjoy networking and Lego® building with your tablemates.
1:00 pm-1:15 pm:
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Tyler Hudson, President – Synergent
1:15 pm-2:15 pm:
Run It, Protect It, and Grow It
Al Dominick, Partner – Cornerstone Advisors
Volatility has been a frequent guest at nearly all of our tables this year, underscoring the importance of staying focused on what you can control while preparing to respond to what you can’t. Given the ever-shifting nature of our industry, we highlight emerging ideas and issues that Cornerstone sees credit unions addressing across the country — all to help attendees become a little bit smarter, a little bit faster.
2:15 pm-2:30 pm:
Break
2:30 pm-3:30 pm:
AI in Credit Unions: Adoption, Innovation, and Strategy
Dr. Jennifer Golbeck, Author and Professor – University of Maryland
Artificial intelligence is transforming industries. As AI plays a larger role in a range of work, credit unions are tasked with understanding the benefits and potential pitfalls, while also learning the strategies for using the technology ethically to both preserve member trust and comply with the regulatory landscape. As AI stands to jolt the industry, there is potential to do both good and harm. From analysis of personal data to generative AI like ChatGPT, AI can be both helpful and intrusive. This talk will look at the power of AI, the way data is collected to fuel it, best practices for making decisions about what to adopt, and how to avoid complications that can pose organizational risks.
3:30 pm-4:30 pm:
Break
4:30 pm-5:00 pm:
Shuttle Transportation to Après for Evening Social
5:00 pm-8:00 pm:
Evening Social at Après
Join us at Après for an evening of networking and connecting. We will have food catered from Bite into Maine, Bird & Co., Revel Board + Beverage, and The Treat Truck. Our social will also include a hosted bar, outdoor games, and music. Parking is limited, so we encourage you to use the shuttle, Uber, or Lyft.
7:30 pm-8:00 pm:
Shuttle Transport Back to Westin
Tuesday, August 12
7:45 am-8:30 am:
Breakfast
Enjoy networking and Lego® building over breakfast.
8:30 am:
Opening Remarks
8:30 am-9:30 am:
Banking on Change | Achieving Exponential Growth in the Age of AI
James Robert Lay, Author and CEO – Digital Growth Institute
The biggest obstacle to future growth in the age of AI is not the abundance of new technologies coming online, but a lack of understanding about how leaders can guide themselves and their teams through the complexities of exponential change. That’s because change of any kind, let alone exponential change, can feel hard, scary, and painful.
In this interactive session, credit union attendees will:
- Immediately increase their confidence by gaining clarity into all of the changes they’ve experienced on their own journey of growth.
- Learn how to apply ancient wisdom in a modern world to master the most important technology in the Age of AI.
- Leave with a strategic growth framework that includes tools they can immediately apply to guide their teams and credit unions through the complexities of exponential change with courage.
9:30 am-9:45 am:
Break
9:45 am-10:45 am:
5 Years Forward: Strategy from the Future Backwards
Lee Wetherington, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy – Jack Henry and Associates
Strategy is best done from the future backwards. What will credit unions look like 5 years from now? How will dysregulation and agentic AI impact the evolution, distribution and consumption of financial services? How will stablecoins alter the outlook for card franchises, real-time payments and Pay-by-Bank schemes? How will open banking inform and support your data strategy? And, by the way, do you have a data strategy? This session explores a long view on the future of financial services and what opportunities and threats that future presents now, soon and later.
10:45 am-11:00 am:
Break
11:00 am-12:00 pm
Credit Union Connect: Exploring Innovation Through Interactive Roundtables
Presented by the Symitar User Group, facilitated by Synergent
All Symitar CUs are invited to attend.
Join fellow credit union professionals for an engaging in-person event designed to foster connection, conversation, and idea-sharing. This interactive forum features a series of rotating roundtable discussions, giving participants the chance to explore timely topics with a diverse group of peers from across the industry.
Discussion themes may include:
- Artificial Intelligence: Exploring practical applications, data considerations, and future potential
- Fraud Prevention: Approaches to addressing evolving threats and member protection
- Digital Transformation: Enhancing digital services, member interactions, and support channels
- Faster Payments: Perspectives on FedNow and the broader real-time payments landscape
- Innovative Tools & Solutions: Technologies making an impact across credit unions today
- Symitar Forum: A flexible discussion space for emerging topics, unique challenges, or creative ideas
Whether you’re looking to exchange ideas, gain new insights, or simply expand your network, this event offers a collaborative space to learn from one another and move the credit union movement forward—together.
12:00 pm-12:45 pm:
Lunch
12:45 pm-1:30 pm:
Breakout Sessions – Round 1
Three breakout sessions will take place from 11:30 am-12:15 pm. You will have the option to select one to attend.
Fiserv Merchant Services: A Modernized Approach to Deliver for Your Clients
Andrew Geisler | Senior Sales Executive, Fiserv Community Financial Institutions
Winslow Homer Room
Fiserv Merchant Services drives value for financial institutions and their small and medium business (SMB) members. Learn how Fiserv partners with financial institutions to offer SMB solutions to their business members, while providing non-interest revenue to the institution.
Financial Enablement: Becoming the Trusted Financial Partner for Your Members
Joshua Thomas | Account Executive – Financial Institutions, Array
Longfellow Room
What services are your members hungry to access? How can you integrate those services into your digital experience to prevent member leakage to competing fintechs like LifeLock, Credit Karma, or Rocket Money? Learn how to embed high-value offerings into your digital strategy—so that YOU are the trusted financial partner.
Fintechs Don’t Outspend You, They Out-Experience You
Nicholas Hinrichsen | CEO and Co-Founder, Clutch
Eastland Grand Ballroom
Credit unions have an edge that big banks and fintechs can’t replicate: deep member relationships and agility. But in a digital-first landscape, they’re often overlooked before they can prove their value—not due to budget or branches, but because of a broken experience. This session explores how to fix that with a modern, frictionless deposit journey—instant online banking access, real-time eligibility, card funding, and smart cross-sell—and highlights tools like HAL and Fastlane that bring AI and instant decisioning into play, helping credit unions compete and win.
1:30 pm-1:45 pm:
Break
1:45 pm-2:30 pm:
Breakout Sessions – Round 2
Three breakout sessions will take place from 1:30-2:30 pm. You will have the option to select one to attend.
Fiserv Merchant Services: A Modernized Approach to Deliver for Your Clients
Andrew Geisler | Senior Sales Executive, Fiserv Community Financial Institutions
Winslow Homer Room
Fiserv Merchant Services drives value for financial institutions and their small and medium business (SMB) members. Learn how Fiserv partners with financial institutions to offer SMB solutions to their business members, while providing non-interest revenue to the institution.
Financial Enablement: Becoming the Trusted Financial Partner for Your Members
Joshua Thomas | Account Executive – Financial Institutions, Array
Longfellow Room
What services are your members hungry to access? How can you integrate those services into your digital experience to prevent member leakage to competing fintechs like LifeLock, Credit Karma, or Rocket Money? Learn how to embed high-value offerings into your digital strategy—so that YOU are the trusted financial partner.
Fintechs Don’t Outspend You, They Out-Experience You
Nicholas Hinrichsen | CEO and Co-Founder, Clutch
Eastland Grand Ballroom
Credit unions have an edge that big banks and fintechs can’t replicate: deep member relationships and agility. But in a digital-first landscape, they’re often overlooked before they can prove their value—not due to budget or branches, but because of a broken experience. This session explores how to fix that with a modern, frictionless deposit journey—instant online banking access, real-time eligibility, card funding, and smart cross-sell—and highlights tools like HAL and Fastlane that bring AI and instant decisioning into play, helping credit unions compete and win.
2:30 pm: Adjourn
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2024 Connect Conference Recap
Were you unable to attend or want to revisit the highlights from the 2024 Connect Conference? Not to worry! Read all about it in last year’s Synergent Connect Conference recap.
