Credit Union Times honors Eltropy’s co-founder and CEO in the Technology Vendor category for moving AI out of testing and into daily member service
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Eltropy, the agentic AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), today announced that Co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg has been named the Technology Vendor winner in the Executive Leadership: Industry Partners category of the 2026 Credit Union Times Luminaries Awards. Garg was honored Thursday night at the awards gala in Orlando, one of 27 winners selected from 231 finalists.
Now in their fifth year, the Luminaries Awards recognize credit union industry accomplishments in areas including artificial intelligence, community development, marketing, branch strategy, executive leadership and product innovation. This year’s gala, held at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa, brought together credit union executives, rising industry leaders, technology providers, consultants and credit union service organizations (CUSOs) from across the country. Honors went to 13 individuals and 14 organizations.
Credit Union Times recognized Garg for expanding Eltropy’s AI-powered communications technology to more than 750 credit unions and community banks, and for bringing AI-supported tools out of the testing phase and into daily use at those institutions. The Executive Leadership: Industry Partners category honors leaders at the organizations that serve credit unions, with separate awards for a CUSO executive and a technology vendor executive. Garg shares the category with Shreenath Regunathan of Starlight, who received the CUSO award.
In its coverage of this year’s winners, Credit Union Times pointed to a broader shift across the industry from experimenting with technology to putting it into practice, with several honorees pairing new tools with measurable outcomes. The publication also noted that innovation is no longer concentrated among the largest institutions, as winners ranged from smaller community credit unions to organizations with more than $4 billion in assets. Natasha Chilingerian, executive editor of Credit Union Times, said judges looked beyond measurable results to leaders who were also investing in their employees, strengthening their communities and improving how financial services work for members.
“Ashish Garg has led Eltropy from AI experimentation to everyday use at more than 750 credit unions and community banks,” said Michael Ogden, senior director of content experience and strategy at Credit Union Times. “His leadership shows how AI can deliver measurable outcomes for credit unions while strengthening the relationships their members value.”
Eltropy’s customers are seeing that work show up in member service. Credit Union of Texas’s AI voice agent, Sam, now handles 60% of member interactions on its own. Cobalt Credit Union reached 83% session containment, and Loyalty Credit Union cut average chat session time by 40%.
This year, Eltropy launched its Agentic AI Platform, built specifically for credit unions. The platform connects with more than 50 systems, and its Safe AI Framework logs and authorizes every AI agent action within limits each institution sets. That structure gives credit unions and community banks a clear record of, and control over, the work AI agents carry out for their members.
“I’m grateful to Credit Union Times for this honor, and I share it with our team and with the credit unions and community banks that trusted us to put AI in front of their members,” said Garg. “I started Eltropy because a credit union loan officer looked past my thin credit file when the banks wouldn’t. Agentic AI should give every credit union employee more time for that kind of judgment, and our customers are showing every day that it can be done safely.”
Garg co-founded Eltropy in 2013 and has led the company as it built its platform around the needs of credit unions and community banks. Under his leadership, Eltropy has focused on giving community financial institutions AI tools that meet the security and compliance standards they operate under. Earlier this year, Eltropy was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for the fifth consecutive year.
Luminaries winners were announced and presented with trophies on stage during the gala, which was preceded by a half-day program addressing key industry challenges and trends. Credit Union Times will continue its coverage of the 2026 winners on CUTimes.com.
About Eltropy
Eltropy is the leading conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs). Its Agentic AI Platform enables CFIs to deploy AI agents that can securely automate member interactions, handle financial tasks, and connect with core banking systems. Its AI-driven communications tools help CFIs communicate, automate, improve operations and engagement, and increase productivity across the institution, all while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance. Using Eltropy’s platform, CFIs can connect with and service their members and customers anytime, anywhere via Text, SMS, Chat, Video and Voice, all integrated into a single platform. For more information, please visit eltropy.com.
Media Contact
Steve Jensen
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Eltropy
Email: steve.jensen@eltropy.com
Phone: +1 (801) 362-2793
Website: www.eltropy.com
