4 minutes
Reflections from the SRM Strategic Leadership Forum.
There was a fireplace in my room at Pebble Beach. At night, after conversations that ran deep into the evening, I found myself staring into the fire, turning over the questions raised that day by more than 50 credit union CEOs and senior leaders. The setting may have been idyllic, but the conversations were anything but soft. They were frank, pressing, sometimes even urgently focused on the future of our movement and the challenges that will define it.
The SRM Strategic Leadership Forum, hosted by Mark Sievewright, was a gathering of peers and more than that, it was a mirror for our industry. The closing roundtable session, where each of us voiced our hopes and concerns, became the heart of the event. Out of that conversation, five themes rose again and again.
The Battle for Relevancy and Growth
Leaders openly acknowledged the challenge of staying relevant in a marketplace crowded with fintechs and digital-first competitors. One person put it bluntly: “The term credit union… is actually a negative for young people. They don’t see it as modern or up to the mark of what they want.” Another observed that younger consumers, time-deprived and mobile, migrate to solutions that are fast and frictionless, even if they’re not offered by traditional institutions.
The concern wasn’t only about branding. As one senior leader noted, consolidation pressures are accelerating. What used to be the territory of $100M credit unions now includes those five times that size. “Smart scale,” as one participant called it, will require partnerships and strategy—not just size for its own sake.
Digital Transformation and the Technology Imperative
If relevance is the external battle, digital capability is the internal one. A large credit union leader described the risk of “forced channel switching,” where members are pushed between branch and online experiences because the digital tools aren’t seamless. “It’s got to be a seamless digital experience that is complete,” he said.
Others admitted frustration at how slow progress can be. One leader described spending years trying to perfect data integration, only to still feel behind. And looming over all of it is AI: a powerful tool, but one that’s already raising staff anxiety about job security.
People, Culture, and Change Management
Beneath strategy and technology lies the human element, and many saw it as the ultimate limiter. As one leader said, “The linchpin in all of this is the organization’s absorption of change.” Employees, already weighed down by financial and household pressures, sometimes simply cannot take on more transformation.
Succession planning was another red flag. Leaders warned that without diverse pipelines, strong development programs, and board cultures aligned with organizational values, credit unions risk undermining even the best strategies. Culture, in other words, is not peripheral but foundational.
Intensifying Operational and External Pressures
Fraud, consolidation, and economic headwinds all hung heavy in the discussion. One CEO noted the stress a government shutdown creates not only for members but for the institution’s entire business model. Another recounted scams so audacious (Members leaving debit cards outside their homes for “collection!”) that they underscored how vulnerable members remain.
And then there are the harder, internal truths. Operational efficiency ratios remain stubborn. Some leaders admitted the need to “cannibalize” legacy revenue streams before obsolescence forces their hand. The message was clear: survival will demand both courage and sacrifice.
Redefining the Credit Union Difference
Yet even amid the sobering concerns, there was hope. Several leaders argued that the answer is not to imitate competitors but to lean harder into the credit union difference. One described aligning their culture around mission-driven initiatives like housing and food security, which deepened engagement and ignited staff energy. Another CEO reflected: “Even if our boat seems like it might be taking on a little water, at least we’re rowing and bailing together.”
This spirit of cooperation—the belief that the industry’s future lies in collaboration and shared purpose was perhaps the strongest note of the forum.
Closing Reflections
There were world-class presentations throughout the forum, and I was honored to speak about change management and organizational culture, highlighting the CUES Culture Integration Framework that pairs seamlessly with the SRM Merger Map. But it was the roundtable, with its raw honesty, that will stay with me longest. And I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that about 95% of those present were also CUES members. It was a delight to spend time with them at an event someone else organized for a change!
As I left Pebble Beach, the firelight was replaced by the morning sun on the Pacific. The conversations, though, stayed with me … bright reminders of what’s possible. What I carried home was not just a list of challenges but a deeper conviction: that thought leadership in our industry is alive and well, and that by sharing our insights and concerns openly, we are shaping a stronger path forward, together.
Heather McKissick, I-CUDE, is CEO of CUES. Her 30-year not-for-profit career encompasses six different industry sectors. She is a former EVP at University Federal Credit Union, Austin, Texas, where she served for nine years. Prior to that, she was CEO of Leadership Austin (https://leadershipaustin.org/), an organization dedicated to developing community and civic leaders across Central Texas. McKissick is the previous director of organizational development at one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the US and was an administrator and faculty member at St. Edward’s University.
