Back in 2009, CUES member Steve Schipull, CCE, was CFO of Generations Federal Credit Union and the recipient of the CUES Future Leader award (now called the CUES Exceptional Leader.) Today, he's president/CEO of the $519 million San Antonio CU. As we started thinking about this year's CUES award nominations (due in June and July), we caught up with Steve to see how the award impacted his career and professional outlook.
Q: What has changed for you career-wise since you won this award in 2009? (With Schipull in the photo is past CUES Chairman Carla Altepeter, CCE, now president/CEO of $1.3 billion Numerica Credit Union, Spokane Valley, Wash.) In 2011, I was honored to be selected as “CFO of the Year – Community Service Company” by the San Antonio Business Journal. This award meant a great deal because I was recognized locally for my business leadership and contributions to my company’s reputation and success. In November 2012, I was selected as the new president/CEO at our credit union. I was the only internal candidate in a nationwide search and was truly honored to be chosen to take our credit union to the next level. Q: What has been your proudest moment since you won the CUES award? For me, it has been watching others grow and succeed in their careers with the credit union. Since taking the helm in 2012, I have spent a great deal of my time building our culture into one that promotes and supports continuous learning and development. One of the things that truly inspires me as a CEO is watching ambitious energetic individuals strive for excellence. They remind me of myself in the early part of my career and I’m overjoyed in providing guidance and assistance for them on their professional development journey. Developing future leaders is one of my primary roles now and I look forward to possibly acknowledging one of my teammates at a CUES Exceptional Leader award reception in the future.
Q: What do you remember the most about winning the 2009 CUES award? I was stunned, honestly. Receiving recognition from your peers is by far the most gratifying award. I had read about past winners and did not think I would be honored with an award of this scale. By nature, I’m someone who would rather see others succeed and receive recognition. During my entire career, I’ve come to work each day, striving to give my all and aim to make a difference. I’m just not someone who seeks out recognition. So the award, for me, was very personal and is something that still gives me a great deal of pride.
Q: How has winning impacted you professionally and personally?
From a professional standpoint, winning the award re-ignited my desire to attain a future leadership role, which fortunately I was able to achieve. Inspiring others is my goal now and I work every day to improve myself and be a “thought leader” for my team. I’m very collaborative by nature and I enjoy watching my leadership teams come together, manage risk, take ownership of their operations, and grow their business lines. It’s truly gratifying to be part of their professional development. From a personal perspective, my mom was overjoyed! (As I guess any parent would be.) But more importantly, this award helps to remind me every day to share my passion and inspire others to achieve and seek out success.
Q: How has attending CUES' CEO Institute affected you professionally and personally? CUES' CEO Institute is an outstanding program that I would highly recommend to anyone who wishes to develop and/or enhance their leadership skills. In fact, it’s one of the programs that I promote for our leadership team for their own professional development. Having access to some of the most progressive faculty at some of the most prestigious universities was inspiring to me. I learned a tremendous amount from these instructors and was able to apply much of what I learned almost immediately, making an impact at my credit union. In addition, it was exciting to further my learning experience by listening to other attendees' perspectives on topics discussed. Being surrounded by highly driven, intelligent folks is an environment I thrive in. Challenging yourself to improve is enhanced when everyone in the room is ambitious and driven for success. Lastly, the networking opportunities are outstanding. To this day, I have kept in contact with many of my classmates and other past attendees. It’s been a tremendous resource for me to be able to bounce ideas off of them and collaborate with them on prior successes and future ambitions.
Q: Would you recommend that other CU execs nominate someone for CUES awards? Absolutely. Receiving recognition for outstanding efforts is not only enriching, but also personally gratifying. Our industry is under attack from numerous fronts, and to remain relevant we need a strong bench of future leaders who will truly make a difference in the lives of those we serve. Recognizing the best of our future leaders will inspire others to achieve.
Q: What next steps are you planning for your CU and your career? Like so many others who preceded folks like myself, my long-term vision for the credit union is to not only improve the lives of those impacted by what we do, but also to inspire others to continue the journey. As I mentioned before, in order for our industry to remain relevant, we must adapt, change, innovate and outperform consistently. Our goal is to be the best of the best and become a great organization that others want to be part of. Personally, I look forward to sharing and inspiring others to be their best, ultimately ending my career at Generations. I’ve been truly blessed throughout my entire career with the support of my family, stewardship by mentors and the support of my team. I love what I do and enjoy coming to work on Monday as much as I do on Friday. I embrace challenges and continuously look for opportunities where maybe others do not. In closing, I would like to acknowledge CUES for their outstanding efforts in promoting leadership development and will continue to support their efforts as long as I remain in the industry.
It's time to nominate top CU industry people you know for this year's CUES awards! Nominations for CUES Outstanding Chief Executive, CUES Exceptional Leader, and CUES Supplier of the Year are due June 2. Nominations for CUES Distinguished Director are due July 7.
