My Journey to Credit Union Leadership: Carrie Langgard of Sooper Credit Union

Name: Carrie Langgard

Credit union: Sooper Credit Union ($638 million, Arvada, Colo.)

Title: President/CEO

Age: 54

Number of years at current credit union: Nine

Educational background: Bachelor of Science in Business, Accounting & Finance from the University of Phoenix, Graduated Magna cum Laude

CU Times: What are your key responsibilities in your current role?

Langgard: In my current role, my key responsibilities are overseeing the credit union’s strategy, operations, culture, brand and financial position. I also work with a talented and engaged Board of Directors that represents our membership. My most important role in our organization is building relationships with our employees, ensuring they are engaged and happy, and that they, in turn, will take good care of our members.

CU Times: What drew you to the credit union industry?

Langgard: I grew up in Canada where credit unions and retail cooperatives are a vital contributor to the Canadian economy. They model the concept of pooling resources and working together so everyone can access goods and services at a lower price – people helping people. My first account was with a credit union, and my grandparents and parents were actively involved in our local credit union and our retail co-op. (My dad even sat on the co-op Board of Directors.)

My first job at 15 years old was at a retail co-operative, Sherwood Co-op. I worked there for eight years while going to university in Canada, ending my time there as the accounting manager. My first job after moving to the United States was at Denver Community Credit Union (now Zing Credit Union [$420 million, Denver]). I chose this job because it felt like “home.” To me, home is a place where people look out for one another, take care of one another and work together toward a common cause – that is what drew me to the credit union industry.

CU Times: What unique skills, experience and attributes do you bring to your role?

Langgard: The unique attribute I bring to my role is that I am just like everyone else. I don’t have a set of magic skills or experience that makes me special. I care about people. I want to make an impact in the lives of our members, employees and within our communities. I want to take the experiences I have had and use them to make the world a better place. I want to give our employees a place where they can invest in their future, an organization that they feel proud to be a part of, and a job that is a ‘calling’ for them. I want our members to find a group of caring individuals that they can trust with one of the most important aspects of their life – their finances – because the Sooper employees they encounter are educated on how to help and teach them, have the products and services to empower them, and can make their lives better with every interaction.

CU Times: Which person (or people) do you credit the most for helping and supporting you along your career journey?

Langgard: My first mentor was the general manager of my local retail co-op, where I had my first job. Bill Evitts was originally from the UK, the birthplace of cooperatives. He recognized a talent in me and gave me opportunities to grow and develop, such as forcing me to speak at a huge meeting when I was very young and extremely self-conscious. He constantly pushed me outside of my comfort zone, encouraged me to step up and take on more responsibility, and gave me opportunities to move up in my career.

At my first job in the United States, the CEO was female – I had never met a female CEO before! Carla Hedrick had worked her way through the credit union ranks, starting as a collector. She was personable and built relationships with all employees, treating them like they were her equals. In many ways, how I lead today was modeled after her example.

When I started in my first executive position, as the CFO of a smaller credit union, I approached the CFO of a larger credit union that I had been watching for years and asked if she would be my mentor. I learned more from Betsy Guerrero than from anyone. We spent many years talking through scenarios and sharing information and advice. She was such an amazing support as I worked toward the position I hold today. One piece of advice she gave me was to invest in myself, and that has served me well.

My most recent mentor was my former boss and Sooper’s past president/CEO. Dan Kester had trust and faith in my abilities. He supported me as I worked toward the CEO position and gave me the opportunity to run our organization while he stepped aside. It is truly amazing what he allowed me to do; he trained me to take his job. He also gave me two great pieces of advice: 1) Always have a box of Kleenex in your office. 2) Hire good people and stay the hell out of their way.

CU Times: What are some of the biggest differences between working in your current executive level role and your previous, non-executive roles?

Langgard: The biggest difference I found after becoming a CEO was something I did not fully expect. I have always cared about my employees, but it’s different now. I feel a huge sense of responsibility for everyone who works at our credit union. I am responsible for how they earn a living, as this is how they take care of themselves and their families – how they live and survive in this world. I am responsible for how happy they are with their jobs. We spend more time working than we do anything else. It is a huge part of our lives. If you hate your job or are unhappy with your employer, it’s a miserable existence for your days, weeks and years. It’s up to me to make sure that our organization has a culture that truly cares about and takes care of our people. I want them to be happy with their jobs and to feel like they come to work to do something important. Helping people take care of their financial wellness is important work. Money is a key part of everyone’s lives and what our credit union does is essential to our members and communities. That means I am also responsible for our members’ financial wellness. I need to ensure that our organization understands how to take care of our members the way they deserve. For all the years I worked to move into a CEO role, I didn’t anticipate the weight I would have on my shoulders, and it motivates and inspires me daily.

CU Times: What’s a challenge you faced when you first joined your executive team, and how did you overcome it?

Langgard: When I first joined Sooper Credit Union, I was on an executive team of four, with three (not me) planning their retirement. The biggest challenge I faced was shifting thinking throughout the organization to upgrade technology, procedures and practices, and to be more focused on culture and employee engagement. It was moving away from ‘this is the way we’ve always done this’ to thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. This has been a valuable lesson for me as new people join our organization. Always listen, learn and encourage people to challenge our status quo.

CU Times: How would you describe your current leadership style?

Langgard: My leadership style is collaborative, caring and passionate. I believe in allowing people to bring their talents to the table and filling that table with individuals who know how to best handle their line of business. I depend on the leaders in our organization to guide our credit union forward. I believe in encouraging people to find their passions and using those passions to bring their best every day and take our organization in a direction we never saw possible. I also believe in allowing our employees to ask any question they have and giving them an open, honest and transparent answer every single time.

CU Times: Do you approach your job any differently now compared to how you did pre-pandemic? If yes, how so?

Langgard: I do approach my job differently compared to pre-pandemic. The pandemic taught me to expect the unexpected and stay agile. Our credit union thrived during the pandemic. For example, we had been considering creating remote positions for our organization for a few years, and the pandemic forced us to complete this task in a day or two. We amped up our communication skills and found better ways to build bonds with each other and with our members. Doing what we had always done wasn’t possible, and so, we evolved – quickly. I am so proud of how our employees came together during that time and how our leadership team solved problems. We leveraged the power of collaboration by bringing our combined experience, talents and expertise to anticipate what our members and employees might need before they knew what they needed.

CU Times: What’s next for you on your executive career journey? Do you have any specific career goals you’re working toward?

Langgard: At this point, my career goals are less about myself and more about my credit union. I have been the president/CEO for only two years and have loved every minute of my job. I have had many successes, but I can also think of a list of mistakes, or do-betters, that have taught me lessons. My career goals are to continue to grow and learn, and for our credit union to grow and evolve. I want to see Sooper Credit Union become the organization that we are on the inside. This means I want all our members to see the passion and care we have for helping people every time they interact with us.

CU Times: What big-picture impact do you hope to make within your credit union, as well as for your members and community?

Langgard: I heard one of my heroes, Chauncey Billups, former 17-year NBA player, NBA All-Star and now head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, say that his basketball ability was only to give him a platform to help people. It was never about him or his talent – it was just a way to help others. Within our credit union, I have a platform to change people’s lives by helping them with their finances. Most people know that when you struggle financially it is scary and stressful. Whether you are worried about where your next meal will come from, how you are going to pay your bills this month, or why you get up every morning to work your life away only to turn around and pay out everything you earned, money can run our lives. If our credit union can financially empower our members and teach them how to be financially stable and free from stress, then they can live better lives. If we can do this daily, with every member we meet, then we can impact our communities in a truly incredible way.

CU Times: What career advice would you give your younger self?

Langgard: The career advice I would give my younger self is to advocate for yourself. As women, we are often taught to ask for nothing and wait for people to notice our talents and skills. When I was younger, I was incredibly shy. I had to learn how to bring out a side of my personality that is more outgoing (even though it still doesn’t come naturally to me). At some point in my career, I learned to ask for what I wanted. Sometimes, I was only asking for an opportunity to do something I had not done before so I could learn. In the end, I asked to be the CEO of Sooper Credit Union, and I got what I asked for and a whole lot more.

Would you or someone you know like to share your journey to credit union leadership? Please reach out to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com. To qualify, you must have been placed or promoted into a new senior-level leadership role within the last three years at a credit union.