The CUInsight Network – Details, episodes & analysis

“Sales and marketing should be talking every day, because everything you’re doing should be marching in the same direction.” - Whitney Bedard

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Robbie Young, Vice President of Strategic Growth at CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Whitney Bedard, Vice President of Marketing and Digital at CUInsight. Whitney describes herself as a curious marketer with a passion for making connections and building meaningful partnerships. She walks us through the unexpected turns of her career, from working the teller line at the nation's first credit union to leading marketing teams, and spending time in real estate and retail. We discussed the value of wearing many hats, why every marketer should experience working in sales, and the lessons she carried from managing a Target store to shaping credit union strategies.

In our conversation, we talk about the vital role which CUInsight plays in the credit union world and how we act as a trusted partner for industry professionals looking to stay informed, connected, and ahead of the curve. Whitney also shares insights into what makes the credit union industry unique, what excites her most about CUInsight’s growing impact, and why she believes that collaboration rather than competition is the key to moving the industry forward.

As we wrap up the episode, Whitney talks about a precious leadership lesson she learned from her Yiayia, a first-generation Greek immigrant who led with quiet strength, resilience, and a whole lot of heart. She also talks about her love of traveling, books, and gardening supplies. Enjoy my conversation with Whitney Bedard!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Whitney:
Whitney Bedard, Vice President of Marketing and Digital at CUInsight
cuinsight.com
Whitney: LinkedIn | Email: wbedard@cuinsight.com
CUInsight: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | X

“Member experience is everybody’s responsibility because every employee has an impact on member experience.” - Laura Loy

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Robbie Young, Vice President of Strategic Growth at CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Laura Loy, Chief Experience Officer at On the Mark Strategies. Laura helps credit unions sharpen their strategies and marketing in order to build stronger, more resilient organizations. She takes us inside On the Mark’s approach to creating consistency in the member journey.

In our conversation, Laura explains how On the Mark Strategies helps credit unions create consistency in every member interaction and breaks down what she calls the “four success markers”. We also talk about staying ahead of industry shifts, what’s changing for credit unions right now, and how CUs can adapt in advance rather than play catch-up later on.

As we wrap up the episode, Laura talks about her great boss, her love of the book “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins, and talks about the importance of manifesting work/life balance. Enjoy my conversation with Laura Loy!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Laura:
Laura Loy, Chief Experience Officer at On the Mark Strategies
markarnold.com
Laura: LinkedIn
On the Mark Strategies:: LinkedIn | YouTube

Want to learn more about On the Mark Strategies? Click here.

“Continue to drive impact and innovation for credit unions, to change lives.” - Chuck Long

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, President & CEO of CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Chuck Long, General Manager at Zogo. Chuck shares his career journey that led him to his current role. Zogo is transforming financial education with its innovative product suite, designed to empower communities and strengthen credit unions. Listen as Chuck and I explore the intersection of technology, education, and financial wellness in the credit union industry. 

During our conversation, Chuck explains how Zogo's gamified content and personalized learning pathways help members understand important financial concepts, making education accessible and engaging. He emphasizes the importance of digital innovation when it comes to retaining members and shares how credit unions are uniquely positioned to offer personalized service and community support. As we look to the future, Zogo continues to enhance its products to meet the needs of credit unions and their members, improving financial health and creating a lasting impact.

As we wrap up the episode, Chuck shouts out the amazing leaders at Zogo, where he enjoys traveling for work, and shares a book recommendation. Enjoy my conversation with Chuck Long!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Chuck:
Chuck Long, General Manager at Zogo
chuck.long@zogofinance.com
zogo.com
Chuck: LinkedIn
Zogo: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Thank you for tuning in to episode 5 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

Today, my guest is Tony Repanich, President & COO of Shield Compliance. Tony shares how he actually grew up wanting to be in the financial services industry. He also gives us insight on what credit unions must consider when providing support to cannabis businesses.

Tony discusses how Shield Compliance adds value to the industry by helping credit unions build efficient compliance procedures to serve legalized cannabis organizations. In our chat, Tony goes over the difficulties that credit unions might face when making the decision to serve the cannabis industry and what they can do to mitigate those risks. He expresses that the collaboration between technology and compliance makes onboarding less challenging.

In our conversation, Tony and I chat about how servicing legal cannabis companies can give credit unions a competitive edge over other financial institutions. We discuss the steps a credit union must take to be successful in serving this industry and the evolution of legalization.

From our rapid fire questions we learned that Tony’s most recent purchase has changed the way he does virtual meetings entirely. In his free time, Tony likes to hop on his Peloton and jam out to his pop music playlist. As a Seattle native we were not surprised to find out who Tony thought of when he hears the word ‘success’. Enjoy my conversation with Tony Repanich!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com. 

How to find Tony:
Tony Repanich, President & COO of Shield Compliance
tony@shieldbanking.com
www.shieldbanking.com
LinkedIn | Facebook

Thank you for tuning in to episode 4 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Sean Flynn, the Senior Director of Credit Unions at TransUnion. Sean discusses how he wanted to be a Navy pilot when he grew up but ended up in a high school program that put him on the path to financial services plus much more.

Sean shares that TransUnion is a lot more than a credit reporting bureau, now arming credit unions with tools and strategies to create economic opportunities for the members they serve. We discuss how Sean and his team have a personal connection to the mission of credit unions. He believes that, along with member relationships, employing the right data at the right time  to make informed recommendations is the secret to credit unions enhancing the digital experience. 

Sean discusses the trends he sees in lending and overall financial services and shares that TransUnion is focused on providing credit unions a more holistic picture of the consumer. For credit unions to stay relevant, Sean believes that making time for creative and strategic thinking is critical.

During the rapid-fire questions, we learn Sean is all about comfort, and he shares one recent purchase that was definitely worth it. To clear his mind, Sean loves to ski and cycle. When he thinks of the word success, two very different people come to mind, and you’ll be surprised to find out who they are. Enjoy my conversation with Sean Flynn!

 Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com

How to find Sean:
Sean Flynn, Senior Director of Credit Unions at TransUnion
sean.flynn@transunion.com
www.transunion.com
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram 

Thank you for tuning in to episode 3 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today's show is Joe Salesky, the CEO of CRMNEXT. Joe sums up what CRMNEXT is in two words; “Relationship Multipliers.” They assist credit unions in ‘simplifying the work’ by enhancing the member experience and increasing productivity, profitability and innovation within the credit union. 

Listen in as Joe shares his journey into the credit union industry. From being a handy person and enjoying the fulfillment of crafting to discovering the endless possibilities of creating with technology. Joe explains how his team works with credit unions to eliminate barriers between humans and digital channels, and what that looks like when integrated with some of the most common industry databases. 

Joe shares the importance of employees not only being a member’s financial advisor, but using the credit union’s systems to offer some assistance across the board; with front-end and back-end communication. He explains that this will make the member experience seamless and more willing to reduce their share-of-wallet and become loyal to a specific institution. 

In the rapid-fire questions, we find out that Joe enjoys candles and his most recent quarantine purchase was a bluetooth lighter. When Joe thinks of success, he thinks of Elon Musk and his ability to use technology to create simple solutions for hard problems. Enjoy my conversation with Joe!

 Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com

How to find Joe:
Joe Salesky, CEO of CRMNEXT
joe.salesky@crmnext.com
www.crmnext.com
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube 

Thank you for tuning in to episode 2 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today's show is Bolun Li, the Founder & CEO of Zogo. He and his team work closely with credit unions and other financial institutions to provide an on-the-go and interactive financial education tool. This tool is meant to not only attract the younger generation to credit unions but it emphasizes our social responsibility. 

Listen as Bolun discusses the need for credit unions to use advancements in technology to extend their membership to the younger generations and how being more people focused will help. Bolun also talks about delivering financial education resources to prospective members in the way they would engage with it most; primarily through their mobile devices. 

With exponential transition since the pandemic and the quick digital transformation, Zogo will continuously work with credit unions to improve their mobile experiences and presence concerning financial education. He also believes that with innovation in retail branches there is potential to shift consumers to building with credit unions over any other financial institution. 

In the rapid-fire questions, we find out that when Bolun thinks of success, he thinks about Steve Jobs and enjoys the simplicity of his creations. When his busy calendar is empty, Bolun enjoys drives around town or a quick game of golf to clear his head.   Enjoy my conversation with Bolun!
 
Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com

How to find Bolun:
Bolun Li, Founder & CEO of Zogo
bolun@zogofinance.com
www.zogofinance.com
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Thank you for tuning in to episode 1 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today's show is Bill Gould, the Senior Vice President at Securian Financial Group. He oversees sales, business development, financial management, strategic planning, marketing, compliance, and operations. And if that's not enough, he's also responsible for the financial institution insurance business in Canada.

Listen in as Bill discusses his journey to the credit union industry and how his current position has been a bit of a ‘full circle’ experience. Bill talks about the ability to attract and retain members through examining insights and trends while having a variety of  lending options. 

Bill shares how Securian’s most recent research helps credit unions assist their members with lending protection to prevent delinquencies, especially during the pandemic. He sheds light on the importance of industry leaders accepting change and being able to quickly adapt to it. Bill explains that what sets credit unions apart is the willingness to collaborate and share tips and strategies with each other to best serve members. 

In the rapid-fire questions, we find out that Bill recently purchased a puppy for his family and realized it was something he didn’t know he needed. When Bill thinks of success, his father comes to mind as a leader and entrepreneur along with Warren Buffet for his generosity. After work, Bill loves running and getting outdoors to decompress. Enjoy my conversation with Bill!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com

How to find Bill:
Bill Gould, Senior Vice President at Securian Financial Group
william.gould@securian.com
www.securian.com
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

“Innovation is a game changer.” - Mark Bugalski

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, President & CEO of CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Mark Bugalski, Executive VP and Chief Growth Officer at Allied Solutions. Mark brings over three decades of experience to the industry and shares his career journey that led him to his current role. Allied Solutions is focused on using technology-based solutions to help clients grow their bottom line, protect their business and members, and evolve to stay ahead of the competition.

During our conversation, Mark shares how Allied Solutions’ business model is designed to help credit unions grow and serve members, regardless of economic conditions. He explains how credit unions can navigate today's challenging economic landscape by focusing on mitigating risks and optimizing non-interest income. As we look to the future, Allied Solutions is focused on innovating to continue supporting credit unions and providing them with tools for growth and longevity. 

As we wrap up the episode, Mark shares the many reasons he admires Pete Hilger’s leadership, his love for a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and his book recommendation. Enjoy my conversation with Mark Bugalski!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Mark:
Mark Bugalski, Executive VP and Chief Growth Officer at Allied Solutions
alliedsolutions.net
Mark: LinkedIn
Allied Solutions: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X

“As a national trade association, our role is to be on the frontline defending our credit unions so they can make members’ lives easier.” - Jason Stverak

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, President & CEO of CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC). Jason shares his career journey in politics that led him to his current role. DCUC is the premier resource for credit unions on all military and veteran matters. The team at DCUC provides trusted resources for active duty and veteran members while working on strategic and operational issues, and addressing regulatory and legislative matters. 

During our conversation, Jason shares his vision for reimagining the advocacy footprint. He discusses the upcoming launch of Defending Credit Unions PAC and National Advocacy Fund, aiming to optimize grassroots efforts on key advocacy initiatives while maintaining a strong influence. The team at DCUC advocates for members throughout their financial lifecycle, ensuring their needs are met. Listen as we discuss the vital role of DCUC as they provide an expert voice on issues affecting credit unions and their members, bringing the military perspective to national and state issues.

As we wrap up the episode, Jason shares some book recommendations, the city he enjoys traveling to, to experience different cuisines, and lifehacks for work-life balance.

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Jason:
Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer at Defense Credit Union Council
dcuc.org
Jason: LinkedIn
DCUC: LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube