What does it take to make AI adoption stick in a high-stakes, heavily regulated industry, without triggering job-loss panic?

In this episode of AI-Curious, we have a hyper-specific case study of AI adoption. Host Jeff Wilser talks with Krista Snelling (CEO and Chairman) and Matthew March (CIO and EVP) of West Coast Community Bank about their practical playbook for rolling out AI the right way: governance first, culture second, and measurable wins that free up time without cutting headcount.

Why this is something of a “very special episode”: The story and success of the West Coast Community Bank is something that Jeff knows personally. Jeff was honored to visit WCCB’s headquarters and work with their leadership team on AI culture and AI strategy, helping to transform curiosity into clarity.

In this podcast for the first time, Jeff peels back the curtain to share the AI and Leadership workshops he conducts for businesses.

Special thanks to Vistage Chair Richard Bell and the larger Vistage community.

Guests

Krista Snelling — CEO and Chairman, West Coast Community Bank

Matthew March — CIO and EVP, West Coast Community Bank

Key topics we cover

00:37 — Why we’re sharing this case study and what “curiosity-driven” adoption looks like
06:58 — Bank scope and context: footprint, size, and what makes this implementation notable
10:29 — When AI shifted from “vaporware” to something teams could use right now
15:23 — The banking reality: protecting customer data and operating in a regulated environment
17:43 — Governance first: policies, model risk management, and third-party/vendor risk
23:02 — The “Curiosity Canvas,” the “drudgery dump,” and targeting tedious work for automation
25:14 — Building an AI Working Group across departments and flipping the pyramid
33:51 — Making adoption repeatable: SharePoint collaboration, prompt sharing, Teams channel support
36:24 — A concrete workflow win: extracting data from PDFs to generate letters automatically
39:19 — Another win: scraping hundreds of statements for key data elements in a fraction of the time
42:21 — System conversion regression testing: validating outputs at scale with better traceability
44:35 — Security approach: approved tools, tenant controls, DLP settings, and “what not to use AI for”
49:29 — A hard boundary: avoiding AI for anything that directly impacts financial reporting
52:11 — The culture message: “efficiency, not reduction,” and why that unlocks curiosity
53:02 — Advice for leaders: start small, build momentum, and appoint an internal champion
56:51 — Quick personal use cases: everyday ways they use AI outside the office

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Vistage Chair Richard Bell:

https://app.vistage.com/sites/s/chairs/0038000000sllSFAAY/richard-bell

West Coast Community Bank:

https://app.vistage.com/sites/s/chairs/0038000000sllSFAAY/richard-bell

For anyone interested in Jeff’s AI Workshops for their company:

Reach out directly at jeff@jeffwilser.com