The new Chartway Ventures logo (Source: Chartway Credit Union).
The $2.6 billion Chartway Credit Union announced Monday that it formed a wholly-owned CUSO named Chartway Ventures. The new CUSO aims to invest in organizations that align with the credit union's overall mission.
In Monday's announcement from the Virginia Beach, Va.-based credit union (206,468 members), Chartway Ventures will focus its investment opportunities on businesses and organizations that line up with Chartway CU's "purpose of unlocking the potential of individuals and families so they can thrive."
In an email to CU Times, a spokesperson clarified the investment mission of Chartway Ventures as one that "will vary overtime, but will always be in support of the credit union purpose (helping members thrive), especially fintech partners that complement our operations."
The investments will be selected by an organization's innovative approach, scalability and like-mindedness with Chartway CU in order to help bring strong economic returns for credit union members.
Chartway Ventures will be led by Chartway CU EVP and Chief Strategy and Information Officer Rob Keatts as president. The CUSO will be staffed by credit union employees.
"We're all very excited to see the impact Chartway Ventures will have on the credit union community," Brian Schools, Chartway CU's president/CEO, said. "Developing our own CUSO will allow us to drive innovation, foster collaboration, generate revenue and reduce costs, all of which help better serve our members."
According to the announcement, the CUSO's board of directors consists of Steve Warnecke as chair, who also is a Chartway CU board director; Retired Adm. Phil Olson as vice chair, who serves as executive director for the Phoenix Group of Virginia; Doug Leighton, who is a retired payments executive and fintech advisor; and Chartway CU President/CEO Brian Schools.
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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.
