Linda Kirkpatrick and Steve Wunker Added to Conference’s Main Stage Line-up

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California – Co-op Solutions is announcing two new keynote speakers for its THINK 23 conference, adding to its line-up of world-class thought leaders on the payments industry, digital transformation and consumer behavior.

“The theme for THINK 23 is ‘The Invisible Revolution,’ a revolution in how people are moving money that includes digital solutions, banking as a service and embedded finance,” said Samantha Paxson, Chief Experience Officer for Co-op. “These payment trends have created profound transformational opportunities for credit unions that our keynote speakers will help us address with their unique perspectives on human-centered technology.”

“In addition, Co-op will unveil the results of its 2023 market research performed in conjunction with EY and Mastercard, to help leaders better understand the psychology behind consumer spending and saving, and to help grow member utilization, preference and trust with credit unions to manage both their daily and long-term financial lives,” said Paxson.

The THINK 23 conference will be held May 2-4, 2023, at the JW Marriott/Starr Pass Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Credit union attendees can register immediately at https://co-opthink.org/.

Kirkpatrick and Wunker Join Previously Announced McKelvey and Shevlin

Co-op had previously announced Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.), and Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors, as THINK 23 keynote speakers. Joining them are:

Linda Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick is President of North America for Mastercard, and leads the company’s largest market. She has responsibility for customer relationships and operational activities across the U.S. and Canada. Kirkpatrick began her career with Mastercard more than 25 years ago, and has been part of its evolution from a not-for-profit association to a global leader in payments innovation and technology.

Steve Wunker. Wunker is the Managing Director of New Markets Advisors, which he founded in 2009, and advises companies such as Barclays, First National Bank of Omaha, Progressive Insurance and Microsoft. His books include “Jobs to be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation” (2016) and “Costovation: Innovation That Gives Your Customers Exactly What They Want – And Nothing More” (2018).

Research Studies Long-Term Financial Wellness as a Growth Strategy and New Member-Centric Model

In 2021 and 2022, Co-op Solutions made a commitment to conduct extensive research on behalf of its clients, to help the credit union movement navigate sea changes in the market brought on by the digital transformation of payment systems. The company’s most recent research report is “Building the New Member-Centricity,” which can be found here.

Co-op will share the results of its 2023 research during THINK 23, along with study partners EY and Mastercard. The data and conclusions will inform much of the THINK 23 content, with breakout sessions enabling deeper dives into the findings.

“Our 2023 research explores the gap that exists between micro, daily payment interactions and long-term financial wellness,” said Paxson. “There is a direct correlation between short-term financial management constraints and achievement of long-term spending and saving goals across all demographics. This is a key issue for credit unions not only as socially responsible financial services providers, but as organizations that seek to prosper and grow in the long term in a highly competitive and converging marketplace. We also see opportunities for credit unions to differentiate, drive growth and reclaim trust by winning the primary financial interaction moment-by-moment.”

For more information and to register immediately, visit https://co-opthink.org.

About Co-op Solutions

Co-op Solutions is the market-leading financial technology platform whose mission is to connect credit unions to the technology, strategic partnership and scale they need to best serve their members now and into the future. Co-op partners with credit unions to unlock their potential so they can compete; does the hard work of innovation, creating a one-stop opportunity to help credit unions grow; and offers knowledge and expertise in a world where everything must be integrated. For more information, visit coop.org.