An action-packed VeleraLIVE 2026 was hosted April 13-15 in Orlando, Fla., gathering a record crowd of more than 2,000 credit union leaders, industry partners, media and Velera team members.

The dynamic three-day event, which was held at the Orlando World Center Marriott, delivered outstanding content and wonderful opportunities for networking and collaboration, along with standout keynote speakers and great live entertainment. Our entire Velera team is very thankful to our attendees, sponsors and speakers for their enthusiastic participation and contributions to this year’s event – which we think was our best yet!

Here are some of the key highlights and takeaways from VeleraLIVE 2026.

Velocity for a New Era Continues with Upcoming Leadership Transition

Velera President and CEO Chuck Fagan kicked off the official programming with his keynote presentation, discussing his recent retirement announcement and reflecting upon his last 11 years at the helm of our CUSO. Other key topics from Chuck’s keynote included:

A reminder about Velera’s purpose — Chuck shared that Velera is bigger than any one individual, and its purpose remains the same: to accelerate our partners’ success through innovative financial technology solutions and inspired service. This will continue when current Velera Chief Administrative Officer Brian Caldarelli takes the helm as President and CEO on Oct. 1.
Chuck also shared an update on the financial health of Velera, revealing that record revenue was realized in FY25. Key investments continued in the infrastructure, the technology and the products this cooperative needs to compete long-term — wonderful news despite the difficult and uncertain financial environment we’ve all been navigating.
He shared an update on the integration efforts, noting that Velera continues to make excellent progress a little more than two years into the process, and that we are even ahead of schedule in many areas.
Chuck introduced the Velera Ecosystem – Stellaris – which Velera’s credit unions helped shape. The ecosystem will power analytics, decisioning, fraud, payments, digital member experiences and everything Velera builds going forward.
Then, Chuck provided an update on Velera’s Product Journey, which was launched two years ago to modernize our product offerings and meet the rapidly evolving needs of credit unions and their members. The impact of many of our product evolutions are just starting to be felt— and will be meaningful improvements as to how our credit unions operate every day.
Chuck concluded his presentation with a heartfelt thank-you to all attendees for making his journey with Velera the honor of his career.

A Future Centered in Inspired Service

After Chuck’s keynote, Brian Caldarelli and Cathie Tierney, President and CEO of Community First Credit Union and chair of Velera’s Board of Directors, joined him on stage for a fireside chat about the upcoming leadership transition.

Cathie shared insight into how long this transition has been in the works and described the process and the involvement of Velera’s Board. Brian talked about what his areas of focus will be, sharing that Service will be a hallmark of his tenure. He reminded attendees that at its core, Velera is a service organization. Brian also shared a heartfelt personal story on the impacts that credit unions had on his family, reinforcing his commitment to the movement.

Impactful Keynotes from Star-Studded Speakers

Following Chuck’s address and his fireside chat with Brian and Cathie, we had Erica Dhawan, a leading authority on 21^st century teamwork, collaboration and innovation take the stage. Erica shared how to unlock the creative power of teams, build a culture of trust across any distance and create authentic engagement to ensure competitiveness — all of which is important in our increasingly digital world, where working practices are changing at a blistering pace.

Next up was the “Velera Revealed: The Ecosystem Redefining What’s Possible” panel. Hosted by Velera EVP and Chief Product & Technology Officer Denise Stevens, the panel featured Cody Banks, SVP of Product Experience and Enablement; Pam Broadsack, SVP of Product Technology Delivery; Jeremiah Lotz, SVP of Enterprise Data & Experience Design; and Karen Postma, SVP of Risk Solutions. The group discussed details about Velera’s new Stellaris ecosystem, including deeper dives into Atmos Data, the neural data network that harmonizes data intelligence inside our solutions, enables AI and powers our product universe to create smarter, connected experiences; Atmos Risk, a unified fraud ecosystem that blends real-time intelligence and expert insight, protecting credit unions without sacrificing member experience; and Atmos Payments, a holistic network of payment channels that provides security, flexibility and choice, enabling credit unions to seamlessly move money and meet their members where they are. Their insights focused on how Stellaris and Atmos were shaped alongside Velera’s credit unions, designed to meet their needs today and in the future.

Valuable Insights from Panel of Credit Union Executives

On day three, industry veteran Mark Sievewright moderated our Credit Union Executive panel, which provided firsthand insights focused on the latest industry trends, including credit union mergers and scale, artificial intelligence and regulatory impacts. Panelists included Mirella Reznic, president and CEO of Farmers Insurance FCU (Burbank, Calif.); Ken Senus, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Bank (Manchester, N.H.); Mike Valentine, president and CEO of BCU (Vernon Hills, Ill.); and Caroline Willard, president and CEO of Cornerstone League (Plano, Texas).

Action-Packed Content for All

Following the panel, futurist Mike Walsh, Founder and CEO of Tomorrow, a global innovation consultancy, spoke to us about how we should be rethinking technology — specifically AI — and its impact on work and life. He outlined how leaders can transform data into value, reshaping decision-making, automation and consumer engagement in our increasingly AI-driven world.

Then, Chuck sat down with Scott Simpson, president and CEO of America’s Credit Unions, for a fireside chat about the current state of the credit union industry. Their discussion covered the evolving regulatory environment and the importance of advocacy as well.

In our closing keynote, Chuck Fagan had an entertaining and candid conversation with the G.O.A.T of professional football himself — 7x Super Bowl Champion and Entrepreneur Tom Brady. Their discussion was filled with many interesting insights from his legendary career.

VeleraLIVE also featured breakout sessions led by industry experts, credit union leaders and Velera subject matter experts, covering a wide range of topics including optimizing credit, debit and checking to how Gen Z is redefining payments; and from API integration to fintech partnerships, as well as several sessions about AI. Some of the breakout sessions were recorded and will be available for attendees to watch on-demand.

In the VeleraLIVE Solution Showcase, attendees were able to explore the new Velera Ecosystem and see how Velera solutions could help their credit union — whether by helping protect their members, optimizing operations, creating connected member experiences or growing their credit union. The Showcase included the Velera and Partner Studios, which featured our solutions and hot topics from our trusted partners, as well as an Emerging Services section, which highlighted our latest innovations and provided opportunities to meet our fintech partners.

Our closing party featured GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, and solo artist — Darius Rucker. His high-energy performance was the perfect close to an outstanding event.

Save the Date

We can’t wait to come together again for VeleraLIVE 2027, scheduled for April 5-7 in San Diego, Calif. Save that week in your calendar and stay tuned for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!