Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

A huge thanks to our sponsor, NCU-ISAO — Watch this video or visit ncuisao.org/gycu to learn more.

Credit unions invest heavily in stadium naming rights and campus partnerships to reach younger members, but those partnerships fall flat when the mobile app experience disappoints. Gen Z has been Wescom Financial's fastest growing segment since 2023 because they treat digital experience as strategy, not an IT checkbox.

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome Ashley White, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Wescom Financial, to talk about:

• How sports and university partnerships build awareness with Gen Z
• Why Wescom's mobile app ratings outperform most credit unions
• How removing student financial barriers translates to member growth

Wescom Financial's success with Gen Z isn't about bigger budgets or better partnerships—it's about treating digital experience as foundational strategy while meeting younger members where they already are.

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

Credit unions face steep member acquisition costs while losing 15% of their membership annually. But the institutions treating acquisition costs as the primary metric are missing what actually drives member loyalty, referable experiences, and long-term value that can't be calculated on spreadsheets.

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay welcomes Ray Ragan, CIO at Securityplus Federal Credit Union, as guest co-host, along with Kathy Day Shelton, SVP and Chief Operating Officer at MECU Credit Union, to explore:

• Why measuring members by dollars misses the point
• How referable experiences create compounding growth
• Finding strategic thinking time in an age of constant distraction
• The one pain point every credit union executive wants to eliminate
• Why core system limitations constrain innovation more than anything else

A huge thanks to our sponsor, PFP Services.

If you want to learn more about PFP Services, watch this video or visit their site.

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

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The credit unions succeeding with AI didn't wait for comprehensive vendor solutions or regulatory clarity. They started asking one question: what can employees do with AI today?

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay welcomes Raymond George, CIO of Clearview Federal Credit Union, as guest co-host, along with sponsored guest Chad Knutson, CEO of SBS Cybersecurity, to explore:

• Real AI use cases beyond the hype
• Why vendor management is such a struggle
• How AI can help you prepare for NCUA exams
• Why the chief AI officer might become your most important hire

Want to know what credit union professionals are really saying about cybersecurity preparedness? Get the exclusive 2025 Executive Report: The State of Cybersecurity in Credit Unions for key trends, emerging risks, and practical steps you can take today.

A huge thanks to our sponsor, SBS CyberSecurity

SBS CyberSecurity partners with hundreds of credit unions across the U.S. to deliver tailored cybersecurity solutions that go beyond compliance. We understand the unique challenges credit unions face — limited resources, evolving threats, and increasing regulatory pressure. Our team speaks your language and knows your examiners. Learn more at SBSCyber.com

Read the shownotes and full transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

Want to learn more about SBS CyberSecurity? Watch this video or visit SBSCyber.com

The top 10 credit unions pay their employees $25,000 more annually than the rest of the industry, but smaller credit unions aren't losing talent wars when they compete on what money can't buy. Culture, flexibility, and growth opportunities close compensation gaps that seem insurmountable on paper, and the credit unions understanding this difference are winning employees who could make more elsewhere.

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome back Brian Lee, President and CEO at Arizona Central Credit Union, to explore:

• Whether the top 10 credit unions' compensation advantage creates a real talent war.
• What new leaders should prioritize in their first 90 days.
• What it actually means when a credit union launches its own stablecoin.

A huge thanks to our sponsor, SBS CyberSecurity

SBS CyberSecurity partners with hundreds of credit unions across the U.S. to deliver tailored cybersecurity solutions that go beyond compliance. We understand the unique challenges credit unions face — limited resources, evolving threats, and increasing regulatory pressure. Our team speaks your language and knows your examiners. Learn more at SBSCyber.com

Read the full shownotes and transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

Want to learn more about SBS CyberSecurity and TRAC? Watch this video or visit SBSCyber.com

Credit unions often wait until CEOs announce retirement to figure out compensation packages, creating situations where merger deals become the path to executive payouts instead of succession planning. The industry that preaches long-term thinking for members sometimes forgets to apply that same logic to leadership transitions, and the consequences show up in merger statistics and talent gaps.

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome back Nolan Waltman, EVP and Chief Operating Officer at First Service Credit Union, to explore:

• How rate cuts create refinancing opportunities and operational nightmares.
• Why compensation structures trap credit unions between rewarding past leaders and attracting future ones.
• Whether rising operating costs signal something more serious than inflation.

A huge thanks to our sponsor, SBS CyberSecurity

SBS CyberSecurity partners with hundreds of credit unions across the U.S. to deliver tailored cybersecurity solutions that go beyond compliance. We understand the unique challenges credit unions face — limited resources, evolving threats, and increasing regulatory pressure. Our team speaks your language and knows your examiners.

Read the full shownotes and transcript on our site: growyourcreditunion.com

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome John Wilkening, EVP and Chief Banking Officer at Tech Credit Union, to explore why small credit unions are choosing extinction over growth, what the Great Recession taught leaders about managing both sides of the balance sheet, and how removing pressure from employees creates better results than adding quotas.

Credit unions promote people into executive roles based on tenure and technical skills, then wonder why leadership feels like amateur hour when the stakes keep getting higher. The industry that prides itself on developing people has somehow forgotten that managing databases doesn't prepare you to manage board dynamics, and knowing compliance doesn't teach you to read the room.

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, hosts Joshua Barclay and Becky Reed welcome Jason Tilley, CIO at First Advantage Federal Credit Union, to explore what separates truly effective executives from those who struggle to deliver results, why credit unions are focusing on the wrong part of the digital asset opportunity, and how cybersecurity preparation separates the survivors from the statistics.

• What does it actually take to be a great executive right now?
• Credit unions are chasing custody when they should be chasing payments
• Cybersecurity preparation separates survivors from statistics

• Develop political intelligence alongside technical competence to succeed in executive roles
• Digital asset opportunity lies in payment infrastructure, not custody services
• Cybersecurity preparation requires cultural discipline and regular exercise, not just policy documentation
• Executive greatness demands synthesizing diverse input into clear direction while maintaining team alignment
• AI-powered threats require proactive policy development to protect institutional data

"You have to trust your staff. You have to get input from your staff. Seek out external sources of truth. You don't know everything you don't know." - Jason Tilley

"There is a diplomacy piece to being a CEO that is something that is not as applicable or as important in the other areas of the C-suite." - Becky Reed

Head over to growyourcreditunion.com to see all of our episodes and full transcripts.

How does your board member selection process compare to your hiring procedures for other positions? Many credit unions have detailed vetting for staff roles that includes background checks and multiple interviews. Could similar rigor benefit board recruitment?

In this episode, hosts Joshua Barclay and Becky Reed welcome Stacie Sloan, COO at Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union, to explore the impossible choice between digital perfection and community roots, why board recruitment feels like amateur hour compared to executive hiring, and how the GENIUS Act could determine whether credit unions control payments or become glorified middlemen.

Key Topics

• Can you really choose between digital perfection and community roots?
• Why board recruitment feels like amateur hour
• The payments war credit unions are losing by default

Key Takeaways

• Stop treating digital tools and community relationships as competing priorities
• Board recruitment requires the same rigor as executive hiring, with skills matrices replacing referral networks
• Payment innovation through stablecoin technology will separate leaders from followers
• The institutions building payment capabilities now will own their member relationships tomorrow

"Hands down, relationships. That's what credit unions are all about. But if you want to keep them and you want to engage them, we have to deliver digitally as well." - Stacie Sloan

"If credit unions wait to get engaged in this space, they're going to be beholden to the same giant fintechs that provide them technology today." - Becky Reed

Credit unions pride themselves on member service, yet they systematically withhold information about products that could save members thousands annually.

In this episode, hosts Joshua Barclay and Becky Reed welcome Anand Solanki, CFO and head of product management at Citadel Credit Union, to explore why the shift from service to sales culture starts with purpose, how Silicon Valley product thinking can transform credit union innovation, and what really drives merger decisions when there's no financial windfall waiting.

Key Topics

• Sales isn't a dirty word when members are leaving money on the table
• Credit unions move at the speed of snails while fintechs eat their lunch
• The merger question isn't about survival, it's about member impact

Key Takeaways

• Reframe sales as member education and value delivery
• Member expectations are set by their best digital experiences, not banking ones
• Innovation velocity matters more than scale in today's environment
• Merger decisions should be driven by member value, not leadership convenience

"We are doing our own members a disservice if we did not show them all of the value that our product offerings can have." - Anand Solanki

"Selling is service and service is selling." - Becky Reed

Visit growyourcreditunion.com to read the full transcript

Your apps are better, your processes smoother, your metrics stronger. But as members go increasingly digital, are you accidentally engineering yourself out of their lives?

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome Tim Schmitt, Chief Experience Officer at PFP Services, to explore why the biggest member experience mistake might be hiding in plain sight, how protection products can become trust-builders instead of payment-killers, and what's actually driving credit union growth.

A huge thanks to our sponsor, PFP Services.

Credit Unions know that engagement is key to success. PFP Services brings expertise, resources, and passion to help you build strong connections with your members. Our goal is to grow your credit union together, forming lasting bonds every step of the way. Partnering with us means a mutually beneficial relationship with absolutely no cost! Visit familysecurityplan.com/credit-unions/ to learn more.