Speakers

Dave Brown

Account Executive, TruStage

With extensive experience in the credit union industry, Dave is equipped to support your credit union from day one. He is excited to provide customized solutions to ensure that the needs of your credit union and your members are met in order to achieve financial security.

When not at work, Dave enjoys spending time with family, traveling, golf, and aviation. He is also committed to serving his community. Dave lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife (Amy) and two children (Olivia & Owen).

Nicole DeRogatis

Chief Marketing Officer, K4 Architecture + Design

With 13 years at K4 and more than two decades in the industry, Nicole brings deep experience in branding and marketing strategy. She’s led everything from full-scale rebrands to building in-house marketing teams and driving brand consistency across organizations. Her career has taken her from print advertising to CMO, with a knack for aligning marketing efforts with big-picture business goals. Nicole also teaches college-level marketing courses, a role she’s proudly held for 12 years.

John Engles

Account Executive

At TruStage™, your account executive is the primary point of contact for helping you achieve your credit union’s strategic objectives. Work with your TruStage team to ensure the best solutions for your business, your members, and your community. With extensive experience in the financial services industry, John is equipped to support your credit union from day one. He is excited to provide customized solutions to ensure that the needs of your credit union and your members are met in order to achieve financial security. When not at work, John enjoys spending time at the lake with family and coaching his children’s sports teams. He is also committed to serving his community and is involved with several church organizations. John lives in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Amy, and their four daughters.

Logan Hayward

Team Lead for IT Compliance Consulting - CU*Answers

Logan Hayward started working at CU*Answers in 2022. He began on the Network Services Team as a billing analyst. There, he gained insight into the products/services that Network Services uses to build resilient IT environments for their 100+ credit union clients. He moved on from that role to join the Business Continuity Team in the spring of 2024. His time in business continuity gave him exposure to every part of the organization, as he worked to understand the people and processes behind data center operations, facilities, accounting, HR, etc. This exposed him to the massive role that compliance plays in operations for financial institutions. He learned that every department has a job to do when an audit or examination occurs, and that in the eyes of auditors, nothing has truly occurred until it is documented. In the summer of 2026, Logan transitioned to lead the IT Compliance Consulting Team, playing a major role in product development for their risk assessment and compliance document services. He now spends his time meeting with credit unions to prepare them for the compliance challenges of today and beyond. He has his “Certified in Cybersecurity” (CC) certification through ISC2 and holds an “Associate Business Continuity Professional” (ABCP) certification through the Disaster Recovery Institute.

Mike Jones

Partner, Financial Services - GBQ

Mike joined GBQ in 2024 following the acquisition of Lillie & Co. and Lillie Resource Group. With a career spanning more than two decades, Mike has been an integral part of Lillie & Company since its formation in 2003, becoming a partner in 2012.
Mike’s expertise lies in the credit union industry, where he has worked since graduating from The Ohio State University. He is highly regarded for his specialization in credit union forensic investigations, where he helps institutions navigate complex challenges and ensure compliance.
Mike’s dedication to the industry and depth of experience make him a valued advisor to his clients and a leader at GBQ.

Jeff Klump

President/Principal, K4 Architecture + Design

As the founding partner of K4, Jeff built the firm on a vision of the “Architect as Master Builder”—delivering integrated design, construction, and branding solutions under one roof. With over 35 years of architectural and program management experience, Jeff has led more than 3,000 projects, specializing in retail and financial markets.

Before launching K4, he served as Director of Architecture & Construction at Fifth Third Bank, where he helped open over 800 branches across 13 states. Under his leadership, K4 celebrated 25 years in business in 2024. Jeff is affiliated with the AIA and NCARB and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Sam Maule

Head of Business Development, Moov

Sam is an active mentor, thought leader, and sought-after speaker focusing on the human element of digital and banking innovation. He has over twenty-five years of experience working in the payments, mobile, and banking space across North America and Europe for both global banking and technology companies, and in the start-up community.

He was the Managing Partner at 11:FS, co-host of FinTechInsider podcast. and recurring host of Breaking Banks podcast. He has presented for such places as the Thailand Stock Exchange, FinTechStage Luxembourg, FinnoSummit Bogota, Money2020 US and Europe, SAMA Saudi Arabia, SIBOS Singapore, Seoul’s AI Conference, American Banker’s Conference, and CUNA

JD Pisula

CEO, Accolade Advisory

As the President & CEO at Accolade, JD Pisula leads a team of professionals who provide institutional investment advice, interest rate risk management, and balance sheet strategies to credit unions across the country. Accolade’s team of consultants work with over 100 credit unions across the country and advise on nearly $2 billion as an outsourced Chief Investment Officer.

Prior to Accolade, JD served as the Director of Investments for the State of Ohio and served in the administration of Ohio Governor John Kasich. He is a CFA charter holder and earned degrees from both Denison University and The Ohio State University.

Scott Runyan CPA

Partner, Financial Services- GBQ

Scott joined GBQ’s Assurance department in 1994 after beginning his public accounting career as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand.

Scott spent the first 17 years of his career serving companies in several industries, including manufacturing, distribution and service. He specialized in technical accounting and financial reporting matters and consulted with clients on business acquisitions and extensive technical research on high-level accounting matters. Scott also led the maintenance of GBQ’s quality control standards for assurance services, which required him to have a vast knowledge of financial reporting issues. In addition to implementing new financial reporting standards for clients, he also engineered overall procedures to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. 

Over the past 13+ years and continuing today, Scott leads GBQ’s Financial Services practice. Recognized as a leading provider of services to credit unions and ranked in the top 5 nationally, his team specializes in providing financial institutions with several services, including audits, outsourcing internal audits, compliance, and merger consulting. 

Scott regularly participates in speaking engagements related to technical accounting topics. He is also the recipient of several internal client service and managerial awards at GBQ.

AJ Schalk

AVP, Audit Link - CU*Answers

AJ Schalk began working at CU*Answers in 2021 as a Client Service Representative. In this role, AJ developed fundamental knowledge of the functionality of the CBX software suite, as well as a growing passion for assisting clients. These skills quickly moved AJ to serve as an Account Executive on the Cards & Payments team, where he managed intricate projects for bill pay and debit card data conversions. Along with project management and ongoing specialized client support, AJ honed his skills to gain a greater understanding of the risk assessment necessary within the world of EFT. In 2023, AJ became a NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer (NCCO) and joined the AuditLink Team as AVP. As the leader of AuditLink, AJ manages business operations and utilizes his regulatory skill set to assist credit unions in alleviating the regulatory mandates that they face daily, as well as preparing credit unions for auditor visits and requests. As an effective and dynamic communicator, AJ prides himself in his ability to train credit unions on BSA and high-risk management with the CBX software suite to ensure that credit unions understand the dept of the software and remain in compliance.

Scott Simpson

President/CEO, America’s Credit Unions

Scott Simpson is the president/CEO of America’s Credit Unions, a national trade organization representing the unified voice of the credit union movement and the 144 million members it serves.

Scott has served for more than 22 years in the credit union movement, including leading Utah’s Credit Unions, California’s Credit Unions, and Nevada’s Credit Unions. He is inspired by the power of credit unions to change people’s financial lives and holds a lifelong belief in the power of not-for-profit financial cooperatives.

His mission at America’s Credit Unions is to energize and amplify the life-changing impact credit unions create every day, while also enhancing credit unions’ bipartisan appeal among elected officials and policymakers in
Washington, D.C.

Scott has served on the boards of America’s Credit Unions (and legacy organization CUNA) and the American Association of Credit Union Leagues. He also chaired the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC), and the National Advocacy Fund.

Prior to joining the credit union movement, Scott worked on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch, and led the Utah Republican Party. A Utah native, Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and Japanese from Weber State University and is an instrument-rated private pilot.

Dr. Sean Stein

Associate Professor of Accounting, Lehman College

Dr. Sean Stein Smith, CPA, is an internationally recognized expert in blockchain, cryptoassets, artificial intelligence, and the future of accounting and finance. He is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Lehman College, City University of New York, where he leads initiatives focused on digital assets, emerging technology,
and workforce readiness.

Sean is a widely published author, researcher, and speaker whose work examines how blockchain, tokenization, stablecoins, and AI are reshaping financial reporting, auditing, governance, regulation, and business strategy. He has written multiple books on fintech, digital assets, and AI, contributed extensively to Forbes and other professional outlets, and delivered presentations for accounting associations, universities, and industry groups.

Sean also advises organizations on responsible technology adoption, regulatory developments, and practical implementation. His work is known for translating complex technical and policy issues into clear, actionable insights for business leaders, educators, regulators, investors, and accounting professionals navigating rapid technological and market change.