MADISON, Wis. — Bob Trunzo said he and CUNA Mutual Group will be focused on three areas when he takes over as president and CEO Jan. 1.
The goals are to continue to have CUNA Mutual be the preferred partner of credit unions, to continue to be a strong insurance company with strong ratings and to develop the next generation of leadership at the company.
"I think at the end of the day we have to continue the momentum and continue to invest in key product areas," Trunzo said. "You do that by continuing to run a financially strong company. We have to continue to deploy our capital in an effective and efficient manner."
Trunzo has been with CUNA Mutual Group for 8.5 years, and is currently president of CUNA Mutual Group Insurance and Financial Services, where he is responsible for the products, distribution and service of the company's U.S. CU businesses as well as its 401(k) business. CUNA Mutual said Trunzo is already responsible for nearly 3,000 of its 4,000 employees and approximately $2 billion of CUNA Mutual Group's annual revenues.
Unlike current CEO Jeff Post, who joined CUNA Mutual nine years ago after being CEO of Fireman's Fund, Trunzo will not bring to the job an outside perspective, but he said his history with the company is just as important.
"The advantages of having been here are huge," said Trunzo. "You have relationships in credit unions, many of which are personal, and you can build on them. I think I have a very good view of our product set. But part of the challenge is to get outside perspective, especially given how quickly financial services is moving and how the organization is reacting to that."
Among the more recent initiatives from CUNA Mutual is TruStage, the branding for a suite of investment and insurance solutions offered for sale through credit unions to members. In his current role Trunzo already oversees that program, and he praised the strong response to that rollout, saying more than 4,100 CUs are now marketing TruStage to their 65-million total members. The company has also just introduced a "FastApply" AD&D solution, through which a member can purchase that product in fewer than three minutes.
"Our goal is to deliver the same kind of services in the form that the member wants, not the way we want, and that means email, call, mobile and mail," Trunzo said. "All are important to the member and help build deeper relationships."
Trunzo, who was secretary of commerce under Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, and who chaired the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park board that oversaw the design, financing and construction of Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, said one product area where CUNA Mutual will be keeping its distance for now is healthcare. CUNA Mutual exited the employee benefits solutions business with the sale of Employee Benefits to Digital Insurance earlier this year.
"Employee benefits is not a core business," said Trunzo. "We have found the best partner for that. This is going to be an interesting experience for us moving forward. We have had relationships and discussions with companies such as HealthPoint and Humana, and as they navigate the [Affordable Care Act] jungle it will be interesting to see if they need partners for [other] basic products. Everything is in total flux right now."
When Trunzo succeeds Post in January, he will work to "continue painting a clear strategic vision for our credit union partners and for our employees. My job here, just as it was for Jeff, is to leave the company in great shape for the next 75 years."
