POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.–After more than 14 years leading Bridgeway FCU, P.J. Walker has announced his retirement. During his career Mr. Walker oversaw an expanded FOM to a three-county community charter and growth in assets to $71 million from $25 million. Along the way Walker, who will be succeeded by EVP/CFO Michelle McCourt, was active in the Credit Union Association of New York, and the credit union itself was honored with the Richard K. Wager Workplace Inclusiveness Award for its commitment to diversity. Below, Mr. Walker shares his thoughts in this Credit Union Journal Exit Interview:
CUJ: How did you become involved with credit unions?
Walker: I began my management career in the banking industry. I was collection manager for one of the country's largest regional banks with regional headquarters in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They decided to move their headquarters to Jericho, N.Y., on Long Island, and offered me a relocation package. Being a country boy at heart, that had very little appeal to me. It just happened around that time that there was an opening for a Collections Manager at IBM Poughkeepsie Employee Federal Credit Union (now Hudson Valley FCU). So, I took that position forty years ago.
CUJ: What lessons have you learned about managing people and growth?
Walker: As a manager, I think it is imperative to surround yourself with the most creative and talented people you can find, even if it means hiring future competitors. If you do that, growth will come almost naturally, because growth becomes in every team members best interest. A positive by-product is that you will probably also be grooming your replacement, and you'll find it easy to fill your replacement tables and manage your succession planning.
CUJ: What did you learn from a name and field of membership change?
Walker: Someone once likened changing your name and/or brand to jumping out of an airplane without a parachute! In our case, however, there was little choice. We had gone from a primary field of membership of Department of Transportation and other state employees (our name was DOT Federal Credit Union) to a tri-county community charter. After a year, despite our best marketing efforts, a focus group study clearly showed that most community residents still thought one had to be a state employee to join. We decided that a change, not just to our name, but also our brand, was necessary to our continued growth and success.
In my estimation a name and/or branding change requires two key elements to succeed. First, the help of a good marketing firm, that specializes in branding, is essential (and, I should add, expensive. Be prepared). Second, you need a good marketing director, not just dedicated to the new brand, but dedicated to the concept of branding. Fortunately we were able to find both, and the results were excellent.
CUJ: Can you tell us about the award won for diversity?
Walker: First of all, I should note that we never set a goal of winning, or earning, a diversity award. I don't think that would work. Rather I think that our on-going commitment to honest and fair interview and hiring practices naturally led to our having a diverse and talented group of employees. All the members of my management team are committed to hiring the best talent and maintaining overall, positive morale.
CUJ: What advice would you give a CEO just starting our?
Walker: Two critical things. Never get so comfortable in your position that you forget that you are only as good as the management team and staff that surround and support you. And, build and maintain a close and positive rapport with your board. Anticipate how your board thinks, and try to build your proposals and plans with their goals and aspirations in mind.
CUJ: What is your view of the future of credit unions, if there is to be one?
Walker: As credit unions continue to move further away from SEG based and primary fields of membership, they need to be more cognizant of the fact that the perception of many (and not just bankers) is that they look less and less like credit unions. The concept of "field of membership" is not at all clear to young (or even many middle aged) people today. In fact, "membership," as a concept, is losing ground among the young and middle aged in many areas of our society (Facebook not withstanding).
Rather than the idea of being forced to "join" something, the idea of member ownership should be stressed and re-emphasized. For example, today if a non-member wants a loan, many often say, "You need to join and become a member first." Why not just say, "In order to have a loan with us you must be an account holder"? Then, "…as an account holder you'll have many additional benefits that you will not have as a bank customer," etc. Educating potential depositors about the real benefits of credit union ownership will be a primary challenge moving into the future.
--Frank J. Diekmann
