John Best Shares Insights on the Inaugural, Innovative CU Unplugged Conference

By W.B. King

Drawing inspiration from the MTV “Unplugged” series, which has featured artists like Nirvana, Jay-Z, Pearl Jam and Neil Young reimaging respective music catalogs, CU Unplugged was designed to flip the traditional conference model on its head.  

“It’s about stripping away the polish, the scripts, and the formality that often get in the way of real dialogue. We wanted to create a space where people can show up as practitioners, not performers,” said conference co-creator John Best who also serves as CEO of Best Innovation Group (BIG), a fintech firm serving the credit union industry.

John Best

“This isn’t about perfectly crafted talking points—it’s about honest conversations between peers,” Best told Finopotamus. “It’s leaders comparing notes, challenging assumptions, and learning from one another in real time. That authenticity is where the real value lives.”

Taking place March 30 to April 2, 2026, and hosted by Signature Sponsor Visa at Visa’s Market Support Center at Mission Rock in San Francisco, the unique conference was spearheaded in partnership with the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC.) “Our industry faces complex challenges, and we need a space where leaders can step away from the scripted format and have real, hard-hitting conversations,” noted Anthony Hernandez, DCUC’s president and CEO. “This event gives credit union professionals the freedom to collaborate, innovate, and design solutions together. It’s truly unlike anything else out there.”

Attendees Create Content

As seasoned conference attendees and presenters, Best and Hernandez said the concept was a result of conversations centered around what they called a “simple observation,”— memorable moments at conferences usually don’t take place during keynote speeches or panel discussions. “They’re the hallway conversations, the lunch table discussions, or the side conversations with someone from another credit union who’s dealing with the same challenges you are,” Best shared.

Believing that the credit union industry’s “superpower” is its ability to cooperate, the conference will encourage attendees to share ideas, lessons learned, and even mistakes in a way few other industries do, Best explained. “CU Unplugged is an attempt to take that collaborative instinct and put it on steroids—to intentionally design a conference around interaction, relationship‑building, and shared problem‑solving rather than passive content consumption.”

A main differentiator of this event is that attendees decide what topics and conversations will take place. “Instead of deciding months in advance what people should talk about, we let attendees shape the conversation based on what they’re actually working on right now,” Best continued. “If a group of attendees wants to talk about artificial intelligence (AI) governance, fintech partnerships, quantum‑resistant security, stablecoins, or something as specific as, ‘Hey, everyone here using UiPath—what are you doing and what’s working?’— we make space for that conversation to happen.”

Attendees will also be encouraged to form group and invite peers to collaborate on problems they are facing. The goal, Best noted, is to find answers, share experiences, and build relationships that extend beyond the event itself. “The lift wasn’t about logistics as much as mindset. It meant trusting that if you create the right environment, the conversations that matter most will naturally emerge.”

While Best didn’t provide attendee demographics, he noted there has been “strong interest” from credit unions, CUSOs and fintech partners. “Particularly from leaders who are looking for deeper engagement rather than a traditional conference experience,” he continued. “As people better understand the format and intent, the momentum continues to build. This model resonates with those who value conversation, connection, and collaboration over content volume.”

Digital-First Experience

While Best said traditional conferences have merit, they often prioritize “one‑to‑many communication,” which, he added, doesn’t always align with how the credit union/fintech industry actually learns and innovates. “CU Unplugged is designed to reflect the cooperative DNA of credit unions. It’s about peer‑to‑peer learning, collective problem‑solving, and creating opportunities that benefit the industry as a whole.”

As part of its “innovation in action” model, CU Unplugged will employ AI-powered scribing solutions—so that every insight from all group discussions or breakout sessions will not be lost.

“The digital‑first mindset reflects how quickly things are moving right now. With AI, fintech innovation, and emerging technologies evolving at an incredible pace, no single organization has all the answers,” Best said. “CU Unplugged is about creating a living, shared knowledge base fueled by collaboration.”

When Finopotamus asked Best what he is most looking forward to experiencing at the inaugural conference, he said real-time outcomes from intentionally designing an event for innovative interactions.

“When you bring smart, curious people together and give them permission to collaborate openly, powerful things tend to happen. My hope is that CU Unplugged helps reinforce the idea that the industry’s biggest challenges—whether it’s AI, fintech partnerships, or what comes next—are best tackled together,” Best noted. “If this conference strengthens relationships, sparks new collaborations, and helps credit unions move faster and smarter as a collective, then it will have accomplished exactly what we set out to do.”

For more information or to register for CU Unplugged, click here.