4 minutes
Caire Chambers
Training Manager
$651 million Smart Financial Credit Union
Houston
Follow her on LinkedIn
Watch Caire’s CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec video
Give us the elevator speech about your project (as in how would you describe your project to someone you meet in an elevator?):
Think B.I.G. is a project that I’m piloting to interns at a local high school to help them learn basic money management skills and develop good financial habits. Budgeting, saving and setting goals are critical financial habits that will help them manage their financial futures. My project, with the support of the interns’ parents, will provide tips and insights on budgeting saving and setting goals.
What is your long-term career goal?
My long-term career goal is to lead a learning and development department that will not only give employees the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs successfully, but build development programs that will give employees the skills they need to make the transition to the next level in their career.
Fill in the dots, the future of credit unions will be bright if ...
We continue to focus on member service and find the happy medium between meeting the financial needs of our traditional and millennial members.
What my generation brings to the credit union movement is …
Innovation! My generations brings innovative ideas and the ability to be flexible in a technological environment.
People consider me a leader because …
I have a strong mission to lead people to be successful. I have a passion for learning and development and it exudes in the work I’ve done and continue to do within my organization. I treat everyone the same, which allows me to gain respect within the organization, and I’ve worked hard to gain a good reputation as a manager and leader. I am not afraid to admit when I’m wrong or ask for help which I believe is an essential quality a good leader should possess. It’s also important to know my strengths and weaknesses, and delegate tasks to individuals that excel in areas where I don’t. And last but not least, I believe I’m a good leader because I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make my team and organization successful.
Who is your hero and why?
Oprah Winfrey is my hero because she did not become a victim of her environment. She grew up very poor with the odds stacked against her, but she persevered and worked hard to create her own path to success. She is an inspiration to so many around the world because of her passion for giving back, education, and empowering women, children and families around the world. To know that a person from such humble beginnings was able to break so many barriers and open so many doors, all while consistently giving back to the community, is definitely an inspiration to me and something I work towards on a daily basis.
Does your credit union have Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Instagram other social media accounts?
Facebook: smartfinancial
Twitter: Smart_Financial
Flickr: smartfinancial
LinkedIn: SmartFinancialCU
Youtube: SmartFinancialCU
What is your favorite CUES member benefit? Or, if you are a new CUES NextGen member, what benefit are you most looking forward to using?
I really enjoy networking and connecting with new people in the industry so I look forward to using CUES Net and connecting with other credit union leaders to share ideas.
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Online voters and a panel of past finalists narrowed the CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec field from 20 to the Top 15 applicants. The challenge, held in conjunction with DDJ Myers and administered by Currency, searches for emerging leaders age 35 and under from within the credit union industry. The Top 15 will blog about their project. And to provide additional value to the competition experience, they’ll each receive an executive coaching session from DDJ Myers, a CUES Supplier member and strategic provider. A judging panel of two CUES members and Deedee Myers of DDJ Myers will then score the Top 15’s applications and blog posts, narrowing the competition to five finalists. The five finalists will receive additional coaching, airfare, accommodation and registration to CUES’ CEO/Executive Team Network™, Oct. 23-26 in Savannah, Ga., where they will give their final presentations. The 2016 CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec will receive further coaching, airfare, accommodation and registration for two CUES’ CEO Institutes, a total prize package valued at $20,000. |
