'Ask Questions and Speak Up': Seasoned CU Chief Shares Her Path to Leadership

Name: Barbara J. Bowker (Barb Bowker)

Credit union: PSECU ($8.2 billion, Harrisburg, Pa.)

Title: Chief Member Experience Officer

Number of years at current credit union: 37

Educational background: BSBA from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa.

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

Bowker: As part of the Executive Leadership Team at PSECU, I’m responsible for collaborating with my fellow executives to develop and drive our strategic growth. Specifically, I’m responsible for membership growth, deposit growth, brand growth and member retention. As part of that, I oversee our marketing efforts, marketing research, website strategy, contact center, branches and digital channels.

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

Bowker: My husband worked in the industry, and I liked the fact that credit unions were an alternative to banks. Credit unions’ not-for-profit status was attractive to me as I thought it was important to put people over profits.

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

Bowker: As I’ve worked for PSECU for 37 years, I’ve had the opportunity to develop my leadership skills, management skills and strategic thinking skills with positions at various levels of the organization. In addition, my unique career journey of working in marketing, our operations area and IT has helped me develop my problem-solving skills with a focus on execution.

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

Bowker: Quite honestly, I’ve had a great deal of support throughout my career including my husband, my daughters, my mother, my siblings and Rick Long – who is currently the PSECU Chief Information Officer. Rick gave me the initial opportunity to move into senior leadership. Our current CEO, George Rudolph, has encouraged me to really push myself since he joined PSECU in 2019. I’ve developed great working relationships with our current executive leadership team and other credit union executives I’ve met along the way, such as Dave Birkey at Interra Credit Union ($1.7 billion, Goshen, Ind.), Melissa Morgan at Patelco Credit Union ($9.7 billion, Dublin, Calif.), Mary O’Rourke at Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union ($18 billion, Live Oak, Texas) and Kevin Johnson at Suncoast Credit Union ($17.4 billion, Tampa, Fla.).

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

Bowker: When I first moved into a senior leadership role, I was concerned about being able to make the leap from being tactical to being strategic. Being in an executive role requires you to broaden your scope of responsibility and to look enterprise-wide. Decisions need to be made with the best interest of the organization and our members at heart, not just what affects my immediate area of responsibility. As someone who is part of a team that is responsible for executing enterprise-wide, one of the biggest differences is how we approach talent development. Where do we need talent? How do we attract, retain and develop talent across the organization? We may need to scale up in one area while scaling down in another.

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

Bowker: When I first entered our senior leadership team about 20 years ago, I was the first new face on the team in quite some time and was not immediately embraced by all members of that team. I made it a point to use my voice. I didn’t give up – I kept challenging and questioning the status quo. In 2021, when George Rudolph reorganized and created our current six-person executive leadership team, there were several new team members, and we immediately began working on operating as a highly functional and cohesive team.

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

Bowker: I lead by example and am approachable, but I set high expectations. Those expectations are never anything I don’t expect from myself. In my role, my focus is on coaching and developing others, which I love.

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

Bowker: I don’t approach the job any differently. Post-pandemic, we have different ways to communicate – we utilize Microsoft Teams and we embrace remote/hybrid work – but my job is now, and was before, to be an enterprise-wide strategic thinker who executes toward outcomes through a high-performing team.

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

Bowker: At one time in my career, I thought I wanted to be a CEO, but in stepping back, I realized that being a Chief Member Experience Officer was really the right fit for me. I’m incredibly happy in this role, and this is where I would like to stay.

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

Bowker: The theme for PSECU’s four-year strategic plan – which was just introduced in February 2024 – is on improving and optimizing our members’ experience. Being a digital-first credit union allows us to leverage technology to better connect to members by offering them a personalized experience. Part of this strategy involves focusing on our employees as well. After all, employees are our greatest asset. If we hire, train and develop top talent, this will help us reach our desired growth outcomes. We need to make sure we are building a positive experience for both our members and our employees.

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

Bowker: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t take on too much, but do work hard and work smart. Relationships matter, so make sure you focus on working collaboratively. Ask questions and speak up. If you are thinking it, others probably are as well. Seek out a mentor or mentors. Be honest, work with integrity and stay humble. Wish I had been able to tell my younger self all of this!

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, the individual must be a part of a credit union’s leadership team or C-suite, and have a compelling story to share about their rise to their current leadership role.