Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
iHeartMedia presents CEOs you should Know. I'm John Denkele, founder
and CEO of Dnkle Business Development and former president publisher
of the Baltimore Business Journal. This is iHeartRadio's CEOs you
should Know, and I'm here today with Becky Smith, President
and CEO APG Federal Credit Union. Welcome backy In, thanks
for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to talk to you today.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, yeah, me too. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
I thought we'd begin by just getting to know the
organization a little bit. So for those who may not
be familiar, can you tell us about APG Federal Credit Union? Sure?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So. APG is eighty seven years old this year, so
we've got a long standing history. Our roots are based
with the Aberdeen Proving Ground Posts, but over the years
we've expanded to a community based charter. We cover Harford County,
Cecil County, and we recently EXPEC added into Baltimore City.
(01:01):
In Baltimore County, we are the fifth largest credit union
in the state with about two and a half million,
two and a half billion excuse me in assets, and
we have about one hundred and seventy five thousand members.
So a strong foundation, been around for quite some time.
And you know, to brag on my team a little bit,
we just were named by Forbes as the number one
(01:23):
credit union in the state of Maryland. So great, upon.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Thank you, that's great. Yeah, congratulations. What could you talk
about your mission?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Sure? So, our mission truly is to make banking feel
like belonging. And so by that, I mean banking can
feel pretty daunting no matter what age you are. It's
a lot of jargon, it's a lot of complexity, and frankly,
we don't do a really good job of teaching our
children about financial education in our school system. So oftentimes
(01:56):
you get to college and you're just learning about what
a debit card is and how how does that differ
from a credit card? And then there's just the emotional
weight of money in general. So our real goal is
to make sure everyone feels like banking is accessible and
it can be viewed as more of an opportunity than
a burden. And that's really sort of the credit union
(02:16):
ethos across the board, but truly being inclusive and helping
people build generational wealth and making it much more approachable.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
That's great, that's great, Thank you. I want to talk
about a little bit about here. Maybe your typical clients are, like,
how much of your business's retail as opposed to the
business banking side of things.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So today the majority of our business is retail or
consumer focused. That's how we have evolved over the years.
But over the last several years we've expanded into business banking.
It still makes up a fairly small portion of our portfolio,
under five percent, but we are investing in that area
(03:00):
because we understand how important small businesses are to our
community and want to make sure that we're providing them
with the same amount of support that we're providing our
consumer members as well. And we feel like we've got
a lot of to offer in that space.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That's great, Yeah, yeah, Why should the businesses bank with
APG sedle card unit?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You know, I think over time, if you think about
what small businesses used to receive from their financial institution,
so it's a lot of you know, personal relationship based services,
and over time, I think what's happened is the larger
banks and the financial institutions have moved upstream working with
those larger entities. The larger businesses are getting more of
(03:43):
the attention and you know, some of those smaller micro
businesses can feel a bit disenfranchised. So I think that
we can serve a particular niche where we can provide
and bring back some of that personal relationship based service.
We've got local decision making, so you know, we're able
to talk directly to the small business and have quicker
(04:05):
access to lending options, et cetera. And that's on top
of you know, the great rates and that we provide
on both the lending and deposit sides. I also think,
but there's something really special about being aligned with small
businesses in our communities, so we kind of have the
same interest, we're serving the same audiences, so it's kind
(04:26):
of rising tide lists all ships, if you will.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
That's great. I appreciate you talking about that. I wanted
to ask also to you know, obviously our official intelligences
in the headlines every every day today, could you talk
to us a little bit about how you're using AI
to enhance the customer experience or maybe what your plans
are to do.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
So, yeah, sure, we're using AI actually in a couple
of different ways, and not just to improve our member experience.
And we call our customers members the credit Union space,
so you'll hear me say member quite a bit instead
of customer. But we're using it to improve our employee
experience as well, and really trying to find opportunities where
(05:10):
we can remove friction from processes and get answers and
solutions to both our employees and our members as quickly
as possible. And that comes in the form of using
data to provide more personalized banking experiences. You know, what
would be the best logical next solution for you as
a member, virtual chatbots, but also intelligent fraud detection. Obviously,
(05:35):
fraud is a really big deal in the financial services industry,
so the more power we can harness from our data
to get ahead of some of that fraud, the better.
So those are a couple of ways that we're looking
to use AI and continue to build upon what the
AI can offer.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Awesome, awesome sounds really cool. Yeah, thank you for sharing that.
What would you say, you know sets you apart from
your competitors.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
You know, I think we are really looking to differentiate
based on experiences. You know, if you think about the
last great experience you had with an organization or a brand,
it doesn't you don't often think of your bank or
your financial institution, and that shouldn't be the case. You know,
historically financial institutions who've kind of provided services based on
(06:26):
what their systems can provide or what their balance sheets need.
And you know, digital transformation is enhanced so much for us,
but it's also I think for most financial institutions kind
of left the human behind and it's focused on the
product and not enough on the people. So we're really
trying to flip that on its head a bit and say, Okay,
(06:47):
instead of thinking about what can we offer to our membership,
we think what does our member need from us? And
we ask them and we use the data to tell us,
and we sort of think instead of thinking sort of
inside out, we're thinking outside in. You tell us, as
members what you need, we'll figure out a way to
provide that for you, and really sort of differentiating on
(07:10):
the experience along the way and not necessarily the products
or the just the rates things like that. So, you know,
I guess the shortest way to say the question we're
asking ourselves are more like, how do we make people
who work here and the members we serve feel seeing
valued and give them a real sense of belonging and
an amazing experience.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, that's great, appreciate that. Thank you for sharing. I
want to kind of go back to something you mentioned
earlier about, you know, your expansion plans and growth plans,
and could you talk a little bit about that and
the reason behind that and your growth plans down into
Baltimore County and Baltimore City.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Sure. So we are really well known in the areas
that we have spent the majority of our history, and
that is Harford and Cecil County. When you come through
these counties, you'll see a lot of our name around.
A lot of people know who we are. As you
move into Baltimore City. In Baltimore County, we're sort of
(08:11):
the best kept secret there. So our goal in terms
of expanding there is one to give more access to
financial education, financial services to those that live, work, or
worship in those areas, but also to let them know
that the we're here for them. We're not just a
(08:32):
financial institution that's coming in and looking to bank everybody.
We're also going to give back to the community. So
we're trying to get involved as much as we can
in the events that are happening. We were involved in
the Preakness event this year in Baltimore, we were involved
in artscape things that are very well known in the communities.
(08:53):
We're trying to make sure that we're showing up so
that we are, you know, not just there fors we're
really there for impact.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, it's funny. I was gonna talk to you about that.
To the kind of your philanthropic efforts. I know, APG
has a reputation, a storied history of supporting the local
community and things like that as and I want to
get into you know, you've been with the the Credit
Union AP for I guess a little under a year,
(09:24):
and so when you think about your philanthropic efforts moving forward,
what are some things that are important to you?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Sure? So you know, again big part of local banking
is making sure that you're part of the fabric of
the community. So we are constantly looking for opportunities to
partner with local nonprofits to make sure that we're giving
back to where our members live, work, worship, et cetera,
and that we're showing up in their day to day lives.
(09:54):
So we've got a lot of local nonprofit partners, from
the Boys and Girls Club to Habitat for Humanity, and
we've got a whole department here at APG SCU that
is dedicated to financial education, where we are working with
those that were recently incarcerated and have come out into
(10:16):
the community and how can we help them get back
on their feet. We're working with women that are living
in shelters to help them figure out a good financial plan,
all free of charge. So it's sort of a macro
level working with these large nonprofits to make sure that
we are giving back and building up our communities, but
also at the micro level, helping one on one with
(10:37):
those that need to support the most that don't often
get it.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That's great, that's awesome. I appreciate you sharing that. I
know you all have a I guess out of stored
reputation in the community, So thank you for all of that.
Tell us about your personal background a little bit and
how you got to this point in your career.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Sure, so I came at this financial services industry from
sort of the side, you know, a typical career or
a CEO of a credit union or bank, starts at
the teller level and works your way up, which is
amazing because you get to learn, you know, from the
ground up, how all of the operations work. I started
(11:19):
my career at a global consulting firm, working with various
Fortune five hundred type companies on growth initiatives, either sales
or marketing or strategy projects, just to help, you know,
figure out what problems they've got and how can we
help to solve them. So I spent them for fifteen years,
(11:42):
traveling all over the world, getting to know a lot
of different types of industries, and from there kind of
and some of those you know, some of those clients
I worked for, we're in the financial services industry, so
Capital One and PayPal and HSBC, So I got a
taste of what what banking operations look like, but I
(12:04):
didn't live it until I became a CMO of a
regional bank in DC called Eagle Bank. And that's really
where I learned a lot about, you know, how the
operations work. And I took that opportunity to soak up
as much as I possibly can, sitting in all sorts
of meetings I probably shouldn't have been in, just to
(12:24):
really putting my consulting hat on learn as much as
I can. And then from there worked for c Q
Credit Union in Maryland for about six years, where I
wore multiple hats in different roles and that's what you know,
led me to my my path here where I've been
(12:45):
just about six months now as CEO of this great institution.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah, awesome, well and congratulations then I appreciate you sharing
your background. Let's let's have an interesting start. I guess
I'm on the consulting side. But same time, what a
great way to learn about other businesses and how they grow.
And you know, take that what you've learned banking industry,
which is imagine could be extremely helpful. So that's pretty cool. Definitely,
(13:14):
definitely all right, let's switch up, switch it up a
little bit. I wanted to talk to you a little
bit about leadership. I love talking about that on the show.
So how would you describe your leadership style.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
I I am a true believer that if employees are happy,
feel valued, feel seen, heard, empowered, that they will then
bring that to work every day and we'll make the
members experience just as happy and make them feel seen
(13:47):
and hurt and empowered. So my leadership style really starts internally,
focusing on the employee side of things and creating an
incredible employee experience all the way from when you are
recruited through you know, hopefully it doesn't happen, but when
you exit what that looks like. But every touch point
(14:08):
in between trying to make the best experience at work
possible so that it translates into amazing experiences for our members.
So in order to do that, you know, it's you know,
try to lead with empathy, openness. I think the biggest
thing I can say is I ask a lot of questions.
(14:28):
First thing I did when I got here was I
surveyed our employees and said, how how engaged are you
and give me your honest feedback. I did. I met
with every employee in the first three months to year.
Tell me everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, because
you can see changes or create that amazing experience if
(14:48):
you don't know. So I do a lot of listening
as well.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, I love that. Would you consider yourself a servant leader?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
You know, I'm not really big one, you know, blocking
in certain names or titles. I guess if the servant
leader is really blocking and tackling to make sure you're
enabling your team to be the best that they can be,
then Yet I would say that I really am truly
(15:20):
a people person. I love it's my favorite part of
the job is working with our amazing and talented employees
here and talking with our members. So I guess, you know,
in some senses, I probably do fit that description.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, yeah, And what resonates with me too, I think
maybe I feel like I have a similar style when
when I was with the BVJ, and that is getting
to know you employees on a personal level. And I think,
you know, you meeting with everyone and asking them how
it's going, ask them how they are, and getting to
know them. It's so important. And I know there's a
(15:56):
lot of folks out there that run businesses or CEOs
that don't take the time to do that. And to
your point, I think it's it is critical to like
build that confidence, that trust, the empowerment, the you know,
the and break down that kind of wall of you know,
a lot of people are afraid to talk to the CEO.
They're the you know, there's the big change the lurge
(16:17):
by that, right, but if you you know, if you
sit down and really talk to someone and get to
know them personally, and just like to your point, it
makes such huge difference, right.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
It really does, and it makes people feel like they're
seen and recognize that they are people. We're all people
at the end of the day who have really full
lives outside of work, and those are the important things,
you know. I want to hear about the milestones in
their lives. I want to see pictures of their recent
baby or grandchild that was born, because those are the
things that really matter in life. And I think those
(16:48):
are the things that earn some earn you some trust
as well, and when you feel seen in that way.
So I couldn't agree more with that and connecting on
that personal level.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Yeah, And in most cases, at least in my experience,
I mean, you get some of the best ideas, you know,
from having those coffee meetings or lunch meetings or just
one of the ones with your team. I mean they're,
you know, living the day to day and in the
middle of the thick of things, and sometimes they just
have the best ideas that you know that you if
you didn't do that and communicate often and genuinely, you
(17:21):
wouldn't you wouldn't find out.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
That's exactly right. And in fact, recently I did a
pop in in one of our branches and had a
really great lunch with some of the employees there and
I asked them all, what's one thing that you would
do or change if you were the CEO, And it
kind of took them off guard a little bit, but
some of the responses I got were amazing. So now
(17:45):
I'm sort of peppering that question into some of my
other conversations around because you know, the people that are
working on the frontline and are working with the members directly,
they know where the friction points are. They know what
their experiences are as an employee in a way that
I could never really understand. So their feedback is invaluable
(18:06):
to me. So, yeah, it's really good to hear that
from across the board.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah, that's great, that's great. So resilience kind of seems
to be the buzzword these days. I'm sure you've probably
heard a lot of that, especially you know post COVID.
What would you say resilience kind of means to you
and how do you demonstrate that leading your team?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, I think resilience to me means being able to
stay nimble and agile. You know, at the end of
the day, our consumers will dictate what the needs are
and the newer generation, you know, the younger generations have
different needs. Than those that are closer to retirement, and
so to be able to be relevant significant in our
(18:49):
members lives, we have to continue to stay nimble and
react to what the environment's giving us, or what our
members are telling us, or what the employee and engagement
survey tells us. So I think being able to kind
of rethink the things we think we know and being
open to change is really important in not getting caught
(19:11):
up with inertia and you know, being able to flex
or or change or stop an initiative because it's just
not landing. I think that the biggest thing I can
say around resilience is pushing through and being agile.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah that's great, Yeah, thank you for sharing. Yeah, it
seems that you know, you're very fast centric, really want
to empower employees. You understand. You know, obviously the benefits
of having a really good culture. What advice would you
might give to other leaders out there and maintaining a
positive work culture.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
That's a that's a tough one. I think that the
big one is being steam and being out there. You know.
I think oftentimes leaders, especially new leaders, will get out
meet everybody, say hi, introduce themselves, and then you don't
see them again for a year for six months, and
(20:10):
you know, I think we've all been in positions like that.
So one of the pieces of advice that you know,
I do a lot based on what my experience has
been in my career, and I really enjoyed getting to
know those that were in levels of seniority and understanding
a little feeling closer to the strategy. So really, you know,
(20:32):
making sure that I'm present, that my executive team is present.
My executives go out and visit our branches every month.
They bring back feedback. So I think it's important to
be seen, to be open, to feel like, you know,
people give people a voice, I think is important. And
then I also think celebrating our team internally for the wins,
(20:58):
even the small wins. It's just you know, we all
we all want to feel excited about what we're working
on and making sure everyone's feeling recognized. So you know,
in the busy day to day of life, it can go,
you know, we can get forgotten a little bit that
we need to celebrate these wins. So making that a
priority is I think pretty big.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
That's great, that's got a great advice. I appreciate that.
So what gets too excited about the future of APG
Federal Credit Union.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh my gosh, everything. You know, I think we're building
off of such a solid foundation. So to start with,
you know, I owe a great bit of debt to
those that have come before me and the eighty seven
years that have been built up prior to me joining
this organization and creating such a strong reputation in the industry. So,
(21:56):
you know, having that great foundation allows us to build
on it and sort of expand upon it. So taking
what we've already built, but then moving it into new markets,
introducing new audiences to who we are. That gets me
incredibly excited. It gets me excited to see our employees
light up about some of the new initiatives that we're
(22:18):
introducing and making sure that they feel like they're coming
along for the ride. You know, my ultimate goal is
that we've got employees that are knocking on our door
wanting to come work here because it's such an amazing experience.
So I think that there's so much growth potential. There's
so much we can learn from our past, but you know,
(22:38):
being able to take some chances and you know, do
some big things and be known for making big moves.
You know, I think is are things that really excite me.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I love it. Yeah, that is exciting. I love it.
On the other side, you know what keeps.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Up at night, you know, I think right now what's
keeping me up most at night is our members and
even employees, you know, financial wellness, you know, making sure
people all have the ability to make ends meet at home,
(23:16):
how we can help support them. You know, constantly we're
looking at what how our members are paying on their
loans and are we seeing any trends, And you know,
it makes me nervous. You know, I don't want to
say nervous, but it certainly makes me concern for so
many people that are struggling and having a hard time
(23:36):
making ends meet.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
So what our role.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Here is to make sure that we are open and
available to help our members and employees work through any
challenges they're having from a financial standpoint. But the economy
certainly is making me, you know, rethink how we're providing
services for our members for sure.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, I think I can bakely say you're not the
only one that feeling like, well, it's so unpredictable.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I think that's the part too.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yeah, fine, is there is there anything else that you
would like our audience, our listeners to know about you
and APG Federal Credit Union.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Come join us. We're a great credit union of I would,
I would encourage everybody to, you know, check out our website.
It's APG SCU dot com. And you know, if you
are looking, even if you're not looking to switch your
bank at this moment or need any specific services, even
(24:40):
just doing sort of a financial checkup for free with
somebody that knows about finances and budgeting and planning. We're
here for that and open to those conversations. So don't
hesitate to reach out. There is a place for you
here and you know we're excited to to have you
hear more from us in the future.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Awesome, awesome, Well, thank you so much, Michael, with a
great conversation, really good good getting to know you a
little bit more and really thank you for taking the
time out today. My pleasure.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Thank you for having me. This has been iheartmedias CEOs
you should know