'Hire Good People and Don’t Be in Their Way,' CU VP of IT Advises

Name: Nico Stein

Credit union: Signal Financial Federal Credit Union ($411 million, Kensington, Md.)

Title: Vice President, Information Technology

Number of years at current credit union: 10

Educational background: Dual Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Information Technology from BA Mannheim in Germany and Cambridge in the U.K.

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

Stein: I oversee all aspects of running a technology department. I have a focus on networking, virtualization and cybersecurity. I also act as a liaison to the Signal Financial Board of Directors and create policies and procedures. Additionally, I work closely with internal and external auditors and government agencies.

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

I previously worked in higher education and at IBM, both of which were large organizations. Within the credit union industry, I’ve seen a much easier ability to work with a number of different key stakeholders to create a positive experience for our members. I like the collaboration between departments and the ability to quickly navigate changing demands. You don’t see that in many other industries.

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

Stein: I have been working in IT for over 20 years. I am still a very hands-on leader, and you might find me configuring some firewalls or configuring backup policies. I’m also very active in several IT programs, which enables me to tap into an amazing knowledge pool, bringing this knowledge back to Signal Financial.

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

Stein: I have some close friends in the IT community and we meet regularly and talk about jobs, careers and family. Their feedback is very valuable to me.

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

Stein: There are definitely some longer meetings now than I had before. Naturally, they are less technical from an engineering perspective. I enjoy learning more on how the credit union runs as a whole and it has widened my perspective tremendously.

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

Stein: One challenge is aligning the IT department’s objectives with the broader business goals. A lot of what IT does is behind the scenes, keeping our staff and members secure. Clearly communicating with fellow executives helps in prioritizing projects and keeping them abreast of potential impact.

I also promoted a business-oriented culture within the IT department, ensuring that technology solutions were developed with a clear understanding of their business impact.

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

Stein: I do not believe in micromanaging; hire good people and don’t be in their way of getting their job done. It’s a combination of being supportive and ‘trust and verify’.

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

Stein: My approach didn’t really change pre-pandemic to post-pandemic. My leadership style before is the same today; it doesn’t matter if my team is fully remote or fully in the office.

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

Stein: I’m heavily involved in backups as well as cybersecurity and ransomware prevention. I see myself moving into a chief information officer position in the next few years with a focus on these issues.

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

Stein: Ransomware will remain a big issue for any organization in the next years. With the rise of AI, attacks are becoming even more sophisticated. I’m positioning Signal Financial to be able to quickly recover from an incident with minimal impact to our members and staff.

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

Stein: I would tell my younger self to become active in IT User Groups and advocacy programs sooner. It wasn’t until 2018 when I started to engage. Networking with and learning from fellow IT professionals opens many doors and is a great resource not only for your career, but also for personal development.

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.