Ascend Mortgage Summit 2026 – Keynote with Shawn Kanungo
A Better Way Mortgage Group
January 22, 2026  ·  Ascend Mortgage Summit

The Agentic Era
Has Arrived

Innovation strategist Shawn Kanungo delivered a powerful keynote on AI agents, friction, and the future of the mortgage industry at ABW's annual summit.

SK
Shawn Kanungo
Innovation Strategist & Keynote Speaker
// Keynote Recording

Watch the Full Keynote

55 minutes of provocative insights on the agentic revolution, the power of friction, and why the most dangerous skill in 2026 is simply coming up with an idea.

Date
January 22, 2026
Location
Ascend Mortgage Summit
Duration
55 Minutes
// Key Takeaways

What You'll Learn

Shawn's keynote challenged the room to rethink how we work, build, and create value in the age of AI agents.

01
The Agentic Revolution
We've moved beyond summarizing emails. AI agents can now think, decide, and execute — like having 10 digital employees at your fingertips, always on, 24/7.
02
Software Becomes Personal
For the first time, software adapts to you. Build your own tools — a voice-first CRM, a custom financial analyst, a multilingual AI concierge — tailored to exactly how you work.
03
Bring Back the Friction
In a frictionless world, the winners double down on humanity. Slow things down where it matters. Make moments meaningful, magical, and memorable for your clients.
04
High Agency Is the Skill
You don't need more smart people — you have AI for that. You need people who are hungry, bold, and willing to orchestrate agents to get stuff done.
05
Disrupt Yourself
Thank your past self for getting you here — then bury it. Take one process, restart it from zero, and go from a 10% improvement to a 10x transformation.
06
Caring Is the Strategy
AI handles the grunt work. Your competitive advantage is how deeply you care. The greatest strategy in the world is to deeply care about the people around you.
"
Work scared until you become scary. This is the next revolution. This is not something you can outsource to the intern. This work is on every single person in this room.
— Shawn Kanungo, Ascend Mortgage Summit 2026
// Podcast Spotlight

Go Deeper with Shawn

After the keynote, Shawn joined The Mortgage Broker Podcast for an extended conversation diving deeper into the agentic era and what it means for Canadian mortgage professionals.

Episode 61
The Mortgage Broker Podcast
// New Episode

Ep. 61: The Agentic Era
with Shawn Kanungo

A deep-dive conversation expanding on the summit keynote — covering how AI agents will reshape mortgage brokerages, why personalized software changes everything, and the mindset shift required to thrive in what's coming next.

AI Agents Mortgage Innovation Future of Work High Agency Client Experience
Listen to Episode 61
// About the Speaker

Shawn Kanungo

SK

Shawn Kanungo

Innovation Strategist & Keynote Speaker

Shawn Kanungo is one of the world's most sought-after speakers on innovation, disruption, and the intersection of creativity and technology. With a career spanning strategy consulting and hands-on innovation work, Shawn challenges organizations to rethink how they create value in a rapidly evolving world. His keynote at the Ascend Mortgage Summit brought a fresh and provocative lens to the Canadian mortgage industry — pushing brokers to embrace AI, double down on humanity, and disrupt themselves before the world does it for them.

// Take the Next Step

Ready to Embrace the
Agentic Era ?

Watch the full keynote, listen to the podcast deep-dive, and start building the future of your brokerage today.

Watch Keynote Listen to Podcast