By Ray Birch
LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich.—As Michigan First CU CEO Michael Poulos steps into retirement, he is most proud of the work the organization has done to change the financial lives of so many members—but that never could have happened until credit unions first changed his own life.
“I've been here for 22 years and I have always been attracted to what I call rebuild opportunities within organizations—an organization that may be struggling and is in need of fixing up. That's what we needed to do here when I first arrived, and we have done well,” said Poulos, whose career in credit unions began unintentionally.
In 1988, Poulos was working as an accounting supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service.
“Accounting was my background and I was working in Syracuse, New York,” recalled Poulos. “My wife and I were looking at the possibility of a second job, because we had to replace the roof on our house. It was a costly repair, tearing off the old shingles and the plywood beneath them. At the same time my boss at the Post Office approached me and said they were looking for someone to run the credit union that served our local Post Office employees. My response was, what’s a credit union?”
‘Job Was Easy’
That credit union, Syracuse Postal Credit Union, was tiny, with less than $1 million in assets. Poulos said he wasn’t sure how interested he was in the extra job, not knowing anything about credit unions.
“But my boss told me the job was easy, and that all I had to do was go to the quarterly dinners and at times sign a bunch of checks when people needed to make withdrawals,” recalled Poulos.
But it wasn’t long into Poulos’ credit union career that he found himself drawn to the not-for-profit cooperatives.
“All of a sudden it was like, wow, I really like this job,” he said. “I was involved in doing good things for people…We turned the credit union into a cash operation. We started doing mortgages, and just began doing more things for our members.”
Not The Place To Stay
Poulos said that type of work made it very clear that staying in the Postal Service as an accounting supervisor would not allow him to take the kinds of strides in his life he wanted—steps that could help others.
“If you wanted to do anything significant in your life the Post Office was not going to be that place,” said Poulos. “I said, here's an opportunity. I enjoy the business. I enjoyed working with computers, and I certainly enjoyed helping people. I found my calling, I guess.”
Michael Poulos speaks to a Michigan First group.
He would eventually leave Syracuse Postal CU for Utica Teachers Credit Union (renamed to First Source). After growing that from $35 million to over $100 million, he left for Tyndall FCU in Panama City, Fla. before heading north again to Michigan First.
Poulos said he focused hard over the years on building the Michigan First brand, overseeing growth to a $1.5-billion organization that made $22.4 million in net income 2021 and $11.5 million through September of 2022, with net worth standing at 11.96%, according to Call Report data. In addition, Michigan First grew membership by more than 6% in 2021. When Poulos was named CEO in 2000, Michigan First Credit Union (then Detroit Teachers Credit Union) had approximately 53,000 members, $280 million in assets, 147 employees, and four branches. Today, it has 185,000 members, 500 employees and 29 branches.
Additional Accomplishments
During his tenure, Poulos also oversaw:
- The building of a new headquarters in Lathrup Village, Mich. that would later add another 110,000 square feet to the existing building
- A partnership with Southfield Public Schools that introduced the first 10 student-run branches in schools
- FOM expansions, including the first in Michigan with a state-wide charter
- Grocery store branches, which now include branches in Kroger, Walmart, and Meijer stores
- Becoming the first in Michigan to offer 24/7 Call Center service located in Michigan
- The opening of The Mint at Michigan First Conference Center, Café 26, the Built & Brewed in Detroit Coffee Café, the Michigan First Bowling Center and the Michigan First Fitness Center'
Changing Lives
Yet it is none of those data points that have been Poulos’ focus. Instead, he said he worked even harder on members’ household balance sheets.
“I'm most proud of the fact that we've changed the lives of so many people, that's what credit unions are supposed to do,” said Poulos. “We were struggling for a time doing that, and with all the changes that we eventually made, we began to make an impact on the lives of people. We went from having a small amount of loans on our books to over a billion dollars today.”
The biggest change Poulos said he made at Michigan First was to make a shift in culture based on the needs of members.
“When I got here the culture was not centered on the members; it was more focused on what employees wanted to do—and did not want to do,” recalled Poulos. “But this is a credit union and we work for our members.”
Looking Forward
Poulos and the Michigan First leadership prepared for almost six years for his future retirement.
“We were fortunate to find Jennifer Borowy, who trained for over four years to take my place,” he said.
Now in retirement, having moved from Michigan to Virginia with his wife, Poulos looked ahead to what he sees for credit unions.
“There's a certain sector of credit unions that are agile. They adjust quickly. They have the right focus and mindset and are not afraid to invest in doing things for the members,” said Poulos. “I think those credit unions, ultimately, will be just fine. But there's going to be a handful of credit unions that are going to continue to struggle because they don’t have these attributes.”
A Shorter-Term Issue
Meanwhile, in the shorter term there is another issue CU leaders will need to effectively respond to, and that is the rising rate environment, he said. Poulos is concerned for those younger executives within credit unions who have never helmed an organization through such a market.
“You just have to make the appropriate adjustments,” said Poulos. “But if you've never done it before and try to do it by yourself, it might be really hard. Just talk to people who have been through this before and you will be fine.”
Poulos added that he is grateful for the opportunity to work with “so many wonderful people throughout my career. The board at Michigan First has been so supportive and the leadership team has been top-notch. I couldn’t have asked for a better working situation and end to my career.”
