Cooperative CUSO CU*SOUTH recently announced that Derrick Smith has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

“Derrick has proven to be a great resource of our CUSO team and to the credit unions we serve,” said CU*SOUTH CEO Leo Vaulin. “He has a tremendous love for credit unions, and that passion shows up in every task he takes on. He has been highly effective as a problem solver, helping our credit unions navigate daily challenges, and he is an inspiring leader, who has contributed much to our CUSO’s culture.”

Prior to joining the CU*SOUTH CUSO, Derrick Smith served for 8 years as President and Chief Operating Officer at FedComp, a privately-held provider of credit union software. In his career, Smith led the design and launch of a secure datacenter and mirrored hot site; developed hosting and support protocols for multiple companies utilizing cloud-based application hosting and data processing services; and re-engineered and launched core products and services through this cloud environment. Sharing his enthusiasm for member service, Smith lectured on behalf of the NCUA and state leagues on topics ranging from disaster recovery to information technology and security.

“This wealth of experience makes Derrick Smith an ideal partner in the executive leadership of CU*SOUTH,” said Leo Vaulin. “CU*SOUTH is growing quickly, so I needed a strong collaborator in building out new service offerings to help our credit unions grow. I’ve heard CEOs express a wish that they could clone themselves to get more done, but with Derrick, I have gained much more—he sees things from a different vantage point, and this results in a much stronger organizational partnership.”