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A Wisconsin-based credit union wants to drive innovative and strategic investing with the launch of its new venture capital fund.
This week Corporate Central Credit Union ($3.3 billion in assets) out of Muskego, Wis., announced the establishment of Emerging Ventures in what the credit union described as a way to "leverage the strength of the organization to make strategic investments in emerging financial technology companies to drive future success."
According to the announcement, Gregg Tushaus, SVP and chief technology and strategy officer at Corporate Central and President of Emergifi, will spearhead the management and development of the Emerging Ventures pipeline.
"Emerging Ventures is targeting investments of $100,000 to $400,000 in seed, series A or series B rounds of companies that align with our strategies," Tushaus said. "We are seeking a return on our investment appropriate for the risk, yet we are seeking strategic investments for the benefit of our members, not just financial investments."
According to Corporate Central, Tushaus will be guided by a committee of five "progressive financial leaders" who will be responsible for evaluating the investment opportunities, selecting investments and performing due diligence before bringing their ideas for investing to the full credit union board of directors for approval.
Tushaus added, "We will pursue innovative and emerging businesses and business leaders that will benefit from Corporate Central's expertise in thought leadership and our nationwide credit union industry network. We will actively engage in opportunities to develop partnerships for delivering products and services and seek out innovative financial technology businesses that align with our strategy."
According to the credit union's announcement, the new venture will focus on the following three areas of interest:
- Financial Wellness – businesses that advance credit union financial wellness or provide products and services that enhance credit union members' financial wellness.
- Value-Added Service (via technology) – businesses that add value or enhance financial services products and services and provide credit unions a competitive advantage.
- Ecosystem – businesses that enhance the credit union and financial services ecosystem through connectivity and integration ensuring credit unions thrive in the evolving financial services ecosystem.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
