FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.– Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) that provides , top-to-bottom IT solutions for innovative credit unions, recently hosted its second annual CEO Forum in Denver. The CEO Forum provides MDT’s client CEOs the opportunity to gather for a high level, peer-to-peer, strategic discussion with MDT’s C-level executives and key individuals from Symitar, MDT’s core processor business partner and a division of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® (NASDAQ: JKHY). In this interactive forum, MDT’s client CEOs discuss strategically critical areas on the minds of credit union leaders today, while MDT and Symitar leadership gather ideas for products and solutions that will assist their clients in addressing these issues.
The client CEOs who registered for the forum had an opportunity to weigh in on the meeting agenda by submitting their prioritized list of strategic topics they wanted to discuss. In keeping with the credit unions’ cooperative philosophy of “People Helping People,” member experience rose to the top and encompassed specifics such as digital strategy, voice banking, and false-decline fallout and solutions. Other forum topics included risk and fraud, payments, branch automation, data sharing, and data standardization.
Attendance of the client CEOs increased over that of 2016’s inaugural forum by about 50 percent, and some of those who attended for the first time expressed regret that they had not attended last year.
“The sharing of ideas with other CEOs from different parts of the country but all facing the same issues was a very worthwhile and rewarding experience,” said Gerald Hutto, President/CEO of Team One Credit Union in Saginaw, MI. “The small group setting lends itself to a more detailed discussion and insight than would a large, formal setting. It was time well spent and I look forward to next year’s forum.”
The forum was again facilitated by Lee Wetherington, Director of Strategic Insight at Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., and the attendees appreciated his expertise, focus, and humor. Expanded from one day to one-and-a-half days of meetings based on last year’s client feedback, the CEOs put all allotted time to good use with great discussions, and they echoed Hutto’s sentiment that it was time well spent.
“I believe this type of focused meeting of strategic leaders is a rarity in our industry, and I highly recommend that all client CEOs attend future forums,” shared Martin Carter, President/CEO of Astera Credit Union in Lansing, MI. “This investment of your valuable time will be well worth it.”
Added Cheryl Sio, CEO of MembersAlliance CU, Rockford, IL, “I'm grateful that MDT gave me the opportunity to meet other (client) CEOs. We don't have a common geographic ground, so it was great to meet and spend time discussing topics so relevant to our industry.”
“The annual CEO Forum is a great opportunity for Symitar, MDT, and these credit union leaders to collaborate and discuss current industry trends,” said Ted Bilke, president of Symitar. “This strategic time together helps to ensure that we remain aligned in our efforts, providing our clients the products and services that meet their members’ expectations for quality service and banking convenience.”
Jay Young, CEO of TrueCore Credit Union, Newark, OH, thanked MDT for what he feels is a unique opportunity. “Thank you to MDT for hosting the CEO forum. This is truly a unique concept in our industry. To have a business partner care enough about their clients to host a collaborative, brainstorming discussion on our current and future needs is simply unheard of. This was the best meeting that I attended all year.”
Larry Nichols, President/CEO of MDT summarized, “Both MDT and Symitar work hard to keep our focus on client service, and that means keeping our focus on our credit union clients. Our clients know what they are facing, and for them to continue to be successful we have to be in lockstep with them. We are business partners with our clients, and we take that partnership very seriously. We need to know their concerns! Having heard their concerns, we can now better strategize on how to help them meet their future goals.”