CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, held their 13th annual 2017 “CEO Strategies Week” conference last week in Grand Rapids, Michigan. CEOs from 70 credit unions and CUSOs from across the country gathered for three days of collaboration, learning, and direct peer interactions aimed specifically at credit union CEOs.
The events kicked off with the half-day CEO Collaboration Workshop, with this year’s theme: “CEO Challenges in Driving Cooperatives in a Consumer-focused World.” CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes asked participants, “In our lust for more consumers, have we lost sight of how owners secure our futures?” CEOs brainstormed about whether the pendulum has swung too far towards looking for competitive advantages for the member-consumer to ever swing back towards the member-owner persona.
The full-day CEO School is intended to help CEOs understand what they should be thinking about when it comes to getting the most from their investments in technology and the CU*Answers network. This year’s discussions centered around three key topics: “Data in Action,” “What does data mean to an Internet retailer?” and “What does it mean to add a data administrator to your organizational chart?”
The central point of the week’s events was the CEO Roundtable, where CEOs spent the day interacting with their peers, discussing in a roundtable format topics such as how credit unions can redefine themselves for the future, how to build a data-centric culture, prioritizing retail banking trends, and talking to members and stakeholders about new norms in the rate market.
Although CU*Answers holds many different learning and collaboration events all year long, CEO Strategies is unique in that it is designed only for credit union CEOs, a forum that encourages more open and frank interactions with other professionals who share the same day-to-day challenges. “We do offer a special mid-year CEO School that’s open to up-and-comers who one day might sit in the CEO’s chair, but this week is truly for CEOs who want to learn from each other in a unique way,” says Karnes about the CEO-only restriction that has been a part of the event since its inception over a decade ago.