RiverLand Federal Credit Union ($310M, New Orleans, LA) has announced that George Lunsford will serve as their next president and chief executive officer (CEO) following the retirement of the cooperative’s first President/CEO, Carol Irby, who has led the cooperative since 1985. Lunsford was placed by DDJ Myers, the well-known leadership development firm that recently became an ALM First Company. Lunsford has served as RFCU’s Vice President of Information Technology for more than 13 years, working closely with Irby. The official transition is planned for January 1, 2023. Reflecting on her time as CEO, Irby shares insights on the past and excitement for the future. “My 37-year journey with RFCU has been an incredible one – I’m proud of our growth and accomplishments and humbled to work with such a talented team. RFCU’s focus is always on our members and that will never change. George’s proven leadership will make the transition seamless as he has experience collaborating with every department, understands the importance of embracing technology, and embodies our values of putting members first,” says Irby. “I am honored to be selected as the next CEO of RiverLand FCU. It’s been a pleasure to lead the digital evolution of the credit union, helping to launch the first mobile app as well as digitize many of our other services and processes,” says Lunsford. “Carol Irby has been a fantastic boss and mentor. I look forward to ‘taking the baton’ and collaborating with the Board to guide the credit union into the future, continuing our mission to serve our membership. It's truly wonderful to work for an organization that puts people first – both members and employees - and exists for people, not profit." Lunsford is a native New Orleanian and received both his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of New Orleans. In his spare time, George supports local cat rescue efforts and enjoys traveling and skiing with his spouse. As part of their due diligence process, RFCU’s Board of Directors hired DDJ Myers to professionally vet their internal candidate. Based on this independent evaluation, the Board is confident that George is best qualified to spearhead the credit union’s continued success and provide the continuity the cooperative sought. “Working with DDJ Myers was a great experience. They were a pleasure to work with at every level - and very responsive to any questions or concerns,” says Lunsford. “As a first-time CEO candidate, I'm thankful for the many informative conversations with Deedee. Her expertise and insight were invaluable in navigating the CEO recruitment process.”
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Curql Collective today announced a new ecosystem partnership with Tru Treasury to provide credit unions a better option to deliver business services to their members and communities. Through the partnership Curql and Tru Treasury will bring their collective resources, expertise, and credit union network to offer the industry’s first full-service treasury management Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) to Curql investors and subscribers. The Tru Treasury, Curql partnership will address an industry-wide credit union gap of business service, driven by limited treasury institutional knowledge, support structures, and solutions. Tru Treasury provides leading treasury technology with a full-service advisory, sales and support infrastructure. Curql supports the growth of its network of credit unions by providing access to Tru Treasury’s technology, resources, and solutions to expand treasury services to a broader business membership. “This partnership is about doing what we can right now to set credit unions up to succeed at winning and servicing valuable business members” commented John Ballantyne, Chief Executive Officer at Tru Treasury. “When credit unions have the solutions, support, and infrastructure built to help their business members thrive, their communities thrive. Partners like Curql will allow us to continue to scale and expand access to services traditionally underrepresented in the credit union industry”. “We are thrilled to add Tru Treasury to our fintech ecosystem," said Nick Evens, CEO & President of Curql Collective. “Tru Treasury provides propriety fintech platforms and the full scope of payable, receivable, fraud prevention and cash management products that credit unions need to service an increasingly complex commercial segment. A partnership with Tru Treasury provides a strong business case for our credit unions to provide a full-range of treasury management services including lockbox and positive pay for their members.” Banks are experiencing a dramatic increase in turnover at the non-officer level despite many offering attractive compensation and benefits packages, according to data from the 2022 “Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey.” Crowe, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm with offices around the world, conducted its 41st annual bank compensation and benefits survey. The report compiles data from 429 financial service organizations and includes information on benefits, incentives, director compensation and current trends in key human capital management practices, as well as salary and bonus benchmarks for 271 job positions. In 2021, banks fared well in retaining talent across all positions and while they have remained stable at the officer level – defined as employees with the legal capacity to agree and sign documents on behalf of their organization – they have seen a sharp rise in turnover for nonofficer employees in 2022. The turnover rate for nonofficers reached its highest levels since 2019, increasing from 16.2% in 2021 to 23.4% in 2022. This trend occurred despite the average salary for these positions increasing by 5% in 2022. “Financial service organizations made real progress in reducing turnover over the previous two years, but the data shows it is becoming increasingly difficult for banks to retain and recruit talent at this level,” said Thomas Grottke, a managing director specializing in financial services consulting and performance improvement at Crowe. “The industry cannot compete for talent based on compensation and benefits packages alone, so organizations must work to improve their training programs and culture. Banks have had success in doing so by engaging their staff in innovation teams, new projects and initiatives; and utilizing automation to help streamline mundane processes.” With the highly competitive job market, banks have found it more difficult than in the past to attract and retain talent. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed responded that retaining younger talent is “somewhat challenging,” up 19% from 2021. Many factors affect recruitment and retention, such as remote work flexibility and bonus programs. Among the financial organizations surveyed in 2022, 64% had a pay-for-performance program and 52% planned on allowing employees to work remotely in the future. Other key survey findings include:
The top retail banking officer had the highest percentage pay increase among all the positions within the survey, with a median pay increase of 18.2% from 2020 to 2022. “With the increase in digital banking, many retail banking officers were tasked with reevaluating their operations and had to decide whether or not to close some of their branches to be more cost effective,” said Grottke. “On top of that, the retail banker positions are evolving into more specialized roles such as universal banker or small business banker. In my opinion, this is the most challenging executive role in banking today.” For more information on the survey findings, please see the 2022 “Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey.” Leading credit union core processor Corelation Inc. announces that industry veteran Mike Reiskis will join the company’s Business Development division beginning September 6, 2022, as a Business Development Executive based out of the Chicago area. Reiskis brings more than 30 years of credit union strategy and technology experience to his new role at Corelation. His previous positions in the industry include Senior Sales Executive at Fiserv and Area Vice President roles at both FIS and Open Solutions (now part of Fiserv). “Watching Corelation exceed every milestone and challenge over the years, I truly believe Corelation is changing the industry for the better by offering the next-generation core processor that credit unions have been waiting for,” shared Reiskis. “Joining Corelation feels like the culmination of what I have spent my career preparing for; this is my dream job.” Throughout his career, Reiskis has brought his expertise to credit unions and financial institutions to establish partnerships and help them solve problems with financial technology. “Many colleagues that I have worked with and have great respect for have come to work for Corelation. The way that Corelation aligns culturally with credit unions and the way they care for their clients as partners is what brings me here. I am grateful for the opportunity to join this team,” added Reiskis. “Mike Reiskis’ wealth of industry experience and accomplished track record as a top performer will complement and strengthen our established team,” shared Corelation Chief Revenue Officer Tim Maron. “Mike is an excellent addition to Corelation as he approaches every opportunity with integrity and passion. We can’t wait for him to get started – welcome, Mike!” The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues are pleased to announce honorees of this year’s League Awards, Advocacy Awards, and Chapter Awards! Twenty-four industry leaders, volunteers, professionals, credit unions, and organizations — including Leo H. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Jeff Napper, president and CEO of LBS Financial CU — will be honored during a special ceremony at the Leagues’ flagship event, REACH 2022, in Palm Desert, CA this coming Nov. 1 - 4. For 48 years, the League Awards have been one of the credit union industry’s most coveted, peer-nominated award programs. The following are this year’s honorees: 2022 Leo H. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award: This is the California Credit Union League’s highest recognition, honoring excellence in credit union philosophy and a lifetime of contributions to the California credit union movement. It is named after Leo H. Shapiro, father of the California credit union movement and founder of the California Credit Union League.
Mahalo Banking, a CUSO that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, has completed its digital banking implementation with Helena, Mont.-based Rocky Mountain Credit Union (RMCU) to provide an improved and seamless digital banking experience for the credit union’s members. RMCU, who leveraged digital banking services with another provider for a number of years, saw the need to select a new provider to provide its members with an easy-to-use banking platform that fosters a unified omni-experience regardless of the channel and that seamlessly integrated with the credit unions’ core. As a result, RMCU selected Mahalo, who offered these services and the support needed to not only serve the needs of the credit union, but also demonstrate a robust understanding of the credit union industry and challenges the credit union itself faces. “Mahalo has proven to be an excellent digital banking partner,” said Erin Johnston, Vice President of Project Change, Rocky Mountain Credit Union. “In the past, we have worked with vendors who have over committed to providing services for us and our members, and then under-performed in the delivery. It is refreshing to work with a team that is credit-union first and was able to meet each of our expectations, on time and without issue. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Mahalo.” Designed by credit union industry natives, Mahalo’s solutions-oriented platform leverages superior core-based design and top-tier functionality to provide outstanding mobile and online banking experiences. Having been employees of credit unions, the Mahalo team naturally empathizes with the common challenges faced by credit unions and their members and understands the importance of collaboration between the two organizations to ensure all member needs are being met. Rocky Mountain continues to be a great partner for us,” said Denny Howell, Chief Operating Officer, Mahalo “We’ve worked hard to support the RMCU team in implementing a positive conversion experience that keep challenges to a minimum, while being sure we did not cause unintended disruptions for the members. Rocky Mountain is a perfect example of what a credit union should expect when they sign with Mahalo Banking. Seamless conversions, happy members and all commitments being met. The digital banking platform allows credit unions to become the voice of their digital branch and effectively connect with members through use of intelligent and intuitive features. With deep integrations into credit union cores and streamlined third-party integrations, Mahalo enables its customers to provide their members with a leading experience that is consistent throughout varying platforms. |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
May 2024
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