4 minutes
Meet the 2014 CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec Top 15
Online voters and a panel of past finalists narrowed the CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec field from 24 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 are blogging about their project on www.nexttopcreditunionexec.com/blog. 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™, Nov. 2-5 in Amelia Island, Fla., where they will give their final presentations. The 2014 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.
For the next several weeks, we’ll be checking in with the Top 15 to see how their project is going and learn a bit more about these next generation leaders.
Benjamin Teske
Consumer Lending Manager
$1.33 billion America's First Federal Credit Union Birmingham, Ala.
Follow Benjamin on Twitter: @TeskeBen
Follow him on LinkedIn
Watch Benjamin’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?):
It is the next step in the evolution of credit union service: serving the communities in which we work and live by playing our part in caring for our neighbors. By offering the CORE Loan, a credit union is committing to caring for people through organizations that change people’s lives every day and understanding its role in something much bigger than itself. Credit unions that offer this loan also exemplify the idea that change can be made in the world when people care and simply do what they can for others.
What is your long-term career goal?
Becoming a president/CEO of a credit union, and steering said credit union to success through serving.
Fill in the dots: The future of credit unions will be bright if ...
We maintain an unwavering focus on our members and all things that impact their families and day-to-day lives. This focus must go beyond their simple account(s) with us, which is only the medium used to facilitate our relationship. Our focus must be on the actual person and the world that directly impacts him or her.
What my generation brings to the credit union movement is …
An ideology and a sincere belief that we are called to, and society flourishes when, philanthropy and serving others is the reason for business. Whether that service is displayed by higher wages and better benefits for employees at all levels of the organization, affording opportunities to members and staff who wouldn’t have otherwise received them, or by caring for those in need. This commandment that we are putting into action fits very well in a piece of the “banking” industry that began with very similar convictions in a time similar to that which we have recently experienced. So, you may also say that we bring a rebirth of the original philosophy of the movement along with the advantage of historical perspective and an understanding and ability to use technology in a way that is unprecedented in business history.
People consider me a leader because …
I am fair and honest. I stand up for that which I believe to be right. I enjoy solving problems. I do not expect anyone to do something that I cannot or would not do. I allow my work and merits to speak for me; and I seek complete understanding and holistic views of processes.
Who is your hero and why?
My wife is my hero. She does and sacrifices for my family with a spirit of care that is awe-inspiring, and she puts up with my hijinks that can sometimes add what seems like a fifth child to the mix.
Who is a must-follow on Twitter?
In this line of work there are two must follows, the CFPB and the NCUA.
Does your credit union have Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Instagram other social media accounts?
Facebook
Twitter: @AmFirstFCU
LinkedIn
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 most looking forward to the options of the developmental resources that CUES possesses and the networking opportunities available with membership.
