The Intelligent FI is a banking podcast for leaders of credit unions, community banks, regional banks, and financial institutions.
Each episode explores AI in banking, lending innovation, data, automation, digital transformation, governance, and leadership with CEOs, chief lending officers, technology executives, and industry experts.
Practical conversations for financial institution leaders building faster, smarter, relationship-led organizations for the future.
Hosted by Gopal Swamy and co-host John Janclaes, alongside industry leaders from organizations including All In Credit Union, GHS Federal Credit Union, WSECU, and other respected voices across financial services.
If you're interested in AI, lending, digital transformation, banking technology, data, leadership, and the future of relationship-led financial institutions, this is where the conversation begins… Listen in!
Listen Now
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In the first episode of The Intelligent FI, Gopal Swamy is joined by Jay Mossman, CEO of Akuvo, to explore why this may be a defining moment for relationship-led financial institutions.
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In this episode of The Intelligent FI, Gopal Swamy is joined by Kathy Bader Courtney, President of OpModi, to explore what responsible AI adoption looks like inside credit unions and why leadership, governance and organizational readiness matter as much as the technology itself.
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Why did it take nine months to find out it wasn’t working?
Chad Williams, CEO of GHS Federal Credit Union, has seen it happen. A credit union signs with a fintech, goes quiet, and checks in with the people using the system nine months later, only to hear it never did what was promised. His question for credit union leaders is why nobody asked sooner.
Chad began his career as a software and computer engineer, so he hears vendor pitches with a different ear from most credit union CEOs. In this episode, he and Conductiv CEO Gopal Swamy talk candidly about what fintechs misunderstand about credit unions, and where credit unions make partnerships harder for themselves.
They get into why Gopal stopped opening sales conversations with ROI, why Chad always asks for two references (one recent, one that has been live for a year), what an executive sponsor owes a project once it gets uncomfortable, and what one lending team did with the hours they got back.
Chad’s advice for the next 90 days is the simplest thing said in the episode, and probably the hardest to make time for.
Meet Your Hosts
Gopal Swamy
Gopal is a fintech and technology leader with 15+ years of experience at American Express, Booz Allen Hamilton, Akamai, and data-focused startups in the lending, enterprise, and edtech verticals. He co-founded multiple companies and has one successful exit. Gopal led global software implementations for multiple fortune 100 companies and recovered over $200M for a top 5 lender. Gopal holds a BA in Economics from Brandeis University, has spoken at numerous entrepreneurship-focused events at MIT Sloan and Product School, and loves founding B2B startups.
John Janclaes
John is Founder of The CEO Corner, an executive coaching and advisory practice he established in 2014 to help leaders and organizations improve performance. He previously served for 17 years as President & CEO of Partners Federal Credit Union, propelling the institution from the bottom to the top deciles of peer performance, a ranking it maintained for more than a decade, while growing assets under management fivefold. Most recently, he spent five years as President of Nymbus CUSO and Chief Growth Officer of Nymbus, Inc., and earlier in his career held executive roles at Logix Credit Union spanning sales, operations, lending, wealth management, and insurance.
Podcast Suggestions and Nominations
Want to hear from a specific organization or person? Have a suggestion for a topic we haven’t covered? Maybe you’d like to nominate yourself or someone else to appear as a guest?
If so we’d love to hear from you!