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NextGen Leaders: Lindsey McMillen

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4 minutes

Meet the 2017 CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec Top 15

Lindsey McMillen
Business Systems Analyst
$1 billion Y-12 Federal Credit Union
Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Follow her on LinkedIn

Watch Lindsey’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?):

The project I’ve been working on is focused on making the entire mobile deposit process faster and easier for both members and employees alike, as well as providing consistency between branches and confidence to the front office staff.

What is your long-term career goal?

My long-term career goal is to become a chief operating officer of a well-established credit union.

Fill in the dots: The future of credit unions will be bright if ...

We continue to innovate and keep pace with the technology as it progresses – but also remember our roots. I heard someone once describe a credit union as “ the farmer’s market of financial institutions” and that has always stuck with me. We have to continue to help each other out and ensure the entire industry grows and benefits from the successes of our peers. 

What my generation brings to the credit union movement is …

New ideas and flexibility. We may have crazy ideas, but some of them are brilliant. We aren’t afraid to try something that hasn’t been done before and we aren’t scared to mess up a few times in order to get to the end result we are looking for. We are a motley crew of educated, determined, “work hard, play hard” people. 

People consider me a leader because …

I have worked my way up through this industry. I started as a part-time teller floater, eventually became an member service officer and then a branch manager. When I moved to the back office, I worked my way up from a GL Accountant to the Accounting Manager. Now I’m in IT and I’m just getting started learning about this part of the industry. I would like to believe that people see me as a leader because they know I’ve been in their shoes in the past. I think people who get hired in at a higher management level sometimes miss out on the value that the experience of being a teller on a busy Friday afternoon brings to your career.

Who is your hero and why?

My hero is Ellen Degeneres. She is absolutely hilarious, she is brave, and she is an amazing person. The world needs more people like her. #Degeneres2020

Who is a must-follow on Twitter?

Donald Trump. Regardless if you love him or hate him, he is still the president of the United States and his Twitter feed is entertaining to say the least.

Does your credit union have Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Instagram other social media accounts?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/y12fcu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/y12fcu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/418731/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/y12fcu/

 

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 am a new CUES NextGen member, and I’m most excited about the new contacts I will make as I go through the next year via CUES Net™ and any other CUES events that I may get to attend.

Online voters and a panel of past finalists narrowed the CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec field from 19 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. 10-12 in Las Vegas, 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.

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