The Future of CUs & Strategic Leadership: Filene Launches Two New Projects

The Madison, Wis.-based Filene Research Institute unveiled, what officials said, are two Centers of Excellence that will address some of the most pressing needs facing credit unions and their leaders.

On Tuesday, Filene announced the Center for the Credit Union of the Future and the Center for Leadership, Strategy & Governance. Both centers will be led by two experts and will research a number of issues that will support and help innovate the credit union space.

According to the announcement, Dr. Lamont Black from DePaul University will lead the Center for the Credit Union of the Future to look at the following ideas and questions:

• Their future value proposition – how do they remain relevant and are they well-positioned to attract and engage potential members?
• Are they applying the right data insights to help better serve members in the future?
• Which trends in innovation and disruption should be prioritized?

As a new Filene fellow, Dr. Black said, “I’m excited to be working with Filene to support innovation and transformation in the credit union movement. The credit union value proposition is powerful and we are here to help credit unions adapt in a changing world. This will involve the hard work of digital transformation including data and analytics as well as experimentation with emerging technologies like AI, crypto, blockchain and the metaverse.”

He continued, “The future revenue models for credit unions may look different than they do today. Our goal with The Credit Union of the Future will be to support credit unions’ strategic planning to ‘adapt and adopt’ more quickly and efficiently as they evolve to serve future generations.”

In a statement, Kim Sponem, president/CEO of the Cottage Grove, Wis.-based Summit Credit Union ($6.5 billion in assets, 248,245 members), said she fully supports the ideas being researched by the new Center of Excellence.

“As a credit union, we have both a need and an opportunity to explore and experiment with new business models in the face of ecosystem disruption, new competition and changing consumer needs,” Sponem said. “Filene’s work to identify and bring awareness to what the credit union of the future holds will ensure ongoing growth, sustainability and relevance for the credit union system.”

Dr. Amy Hillman from Arizona State University has been brought on as a Filene Fellow to lead the Center for Leadership, Strategy & Governance. According to Filene, Dr. Hillman will study the following key areas:

• How are the expectations for leadership evolving?
• What strategies can credit unions implement to stay relevant and competitive?
• What are the proven best practices and optimal governance models?

Filene EVP Christie Kimbell explained, “Boards are the lid on leadership, as much as we want to move forward rapidly, our boards either enable us to do that effectively or unfortunately they can hold us back. When we think about this center, it’s about how to set up the right conversations with our team members and our boards so that we are poised to succeed in the future. When you’re in an increasingly challenged industry you see the threats, but when you can take a step back and reframe you can see them as opportunities for your organization and for the entire industry – it’s a pretty exciting time for reimagination and redevelopment.”

As a sponsor of this Center, President/CEO Kevin Johnson with the Tampa, Fla.-based Suncoast Credit Union ($16.7 billion in assets, 1.1 million members) said, “Filene is a critical resource and industry partner our industry relies upon. Many credit unions rely on their research to inform them how best to solve critical business challenges and opportunities. Suncoast Credit Union continues to invest in Filene’s Center of Excellence as it sees the value in collaborating with the other participating credit unions, learning from each other, the fellows and the collective research.”