The CUInsight Network

“Our goal is to help credit unions advance in their digital technology journey.” - Wes Zauner

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Robbie Young, Vice President of Strategic Growth at CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Wes Zauner, VP of Product at MeridianLink. Wes shares his career journey that led him to his current role. Together, we discuss the evolving landscape of credit unions and the pressing need for digital progression. With solutions to grow deposits, enhance lending, streamline collections, and deliver data-driven personalized experiences, the MeridianLink team is helping credit unions operationalize digital transformation.

During our conversation, Wes and I discuss how credit unions can modernize their systems and embrace solutions that truly enhance the member experience. He believes digital transformation should be viewed as an ongoing journey and shares why MeridianLink views it as digital progression. Wes explains the concept of a digital blueprint, focusing on five key areas: process automation, member experience, share of wallet growth, data centricity, and instant decisioning. MeridianLink supports credit unions in identifying their goals and creating a digital blueprint for ongoing digital progression and growth.

As we wrap up the episode, Wes shares a leader who made a great impact in his life, a city he enjoys traveling to that is full of history, and how routines allow him to balance work life and his personal life. Enjoy my conversation with Wes Zauner

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Wes:
Wes Zauner, VP of Product at MeridianLink
meridianlink.comWes: LinkedInMeridianLink: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X

Thank you for tuning in to episode 5 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

Today, my guest is Tony Repanich, President & COO of Shield Compliance. Tony shares how he actually grew up wanting to be in the financial services industry. He also gives us insight on what credit unions must consider when providing support to cannabis businesses.

Tony discusses how Shield Compliance adds value to the industry by helping credit unions build efficient compliance procedures to serve legalized cannabis organizations. In our chat, Tony goes over the difficulties that credit unions might face when making the decision to serve the cannabis industry and what they can do to mitigate those risks. He expresses that the collaboration between technology and compliance makes onboarding less challenging.

In our conversation, Tony and I chat about how servicing legal cannabis companies can give credit unions a competitive edge over other financial institutions. We discuss the steps a credit union must take to be successful in serving this industry and the evolution of legalization.

From our rapid fire questions we learned that Tony’s most recent purchase has changed the way he does virtual meetings entirely. In his free time, Tony likes to hop on his Peloton and jam out to his pop music playlist. As a Seattle native we were not surprised to find out who Tony thought of when he hears the word ‘success’. Enjoy my conversation with Tony Repanich!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

How to find Tony:
Tony Repanich, President & COO of Shield Compliance
[email protected]
www.shieldbanking.com
LinkedIn | Facebook

“We create a great member experience while achieving compliance goals.” -Tony Repanich

Thank you for tuning in to episode 33 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, Publisher & CEO of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Tony Repanich, President and COO at Shield Compliance. Shield Compliance works to transform how credit unions manage risk, comply with regulation, and satisfy growing operational demands associated with serving the legal cannabis market. Shield’s core platform technologies automate the compliance process and give credit unions the structure they need to monitor, measure, and control operations. Their Shield Assure, Shield Engage, and Shield Transact products ensure efficiency and reliability so credit unions can remain compliant while taking risks in a new line of business.

Tony has been in the financial services industry for over two decades. In this episode, he talks about how Shield Compliance can unlock new business opportunities and add value to credit unions. He discusses the economic advantages of cannabis banking and how they can provide the technology needed to mitigate and manage risk. Tony addresses the concerns facing the cannabis banking industry, including regulatory requirements, risk assessments, and personal viewpoints.

Tune in to hear Tony discuss ways to satisfy the regulatory and risk side while supporting access to banking for legal enterprises. Tony also shares ways credit unions in areas with legalized cannabis industries can help make their communities safer by providing access to banking for these cash-heavy businesses. During our conversation, you’ll also hear Tony dive into the cannabis banking playbook that he created to help credit unions understand the logistics of this new environment and frame out what they can expect.

As we wrap up the episode, Tony talks about the magic of Starbucks, his go-to podcast, and his favorite Peloton instructor. Enjoy my conversation with Tony Repanich!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Tony:
Tony Repanich, President and COO at Shield Compliance
[email protected]
www.shieldbanking.com
LinkedIn | Facebook

“A great member experience is going to be holistic and involve everyone.” - Taylor Wells

Thank you for tuning in to episode 32 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, Publisher & CEO of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Taylor Wells, Experience Director at On the Mark Strategies. The core mission at On the Mark Strategies is to guide credit unions in their strategic planning, branding, and building their member experience so they can succeed. The team has many years of credit union experience and truly believes in helping credit unions thrive in a competitive environment. On The Mark Strategies differentiates itself through its core values, the three E’s: Engage, Educate, Entertain.

In this episode, Taylor discusses the significance of the member experience and how On The Mark Strategies can help credit unions create a customized, authentic, and consistent experience for both employees and members. Taylor shares the ways his team works with credit unions to understand and improve their member experience across multiple channels. He explains that the team starts with data collection and demographic work to understand the current state of the member experience and hosts multi-day workshops for the credit union team to recreate their ideal member experience.

During our conversation, Taylor speaks to the disconnect between front and back-office employees and ways to generate buy-in from all levels of the organization. He also shares the effects hiring, growth, and retention can have on the member experience. Taylor recommends credit unions also look outside of the industry to bring in new talent, while not overlooking ways they can promote from within. To maximize ROI and brand impact, Taylor advises credit unions to align their community involvement and charitable donations with their brand values and target audiences. As we wrap up the conversation, Taylor calls out the importance of actionable strategic plans, organizational health, effective marketing, and more.

Tune in to hear Taylor talk about his growing hat collection, his favorite Michael Jordan quote, and the book he recommends everyone read. Enjoy my conversation with Taylor Wells!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Taylor:
Taylor Wells, Experience Director at On the Mark Strategies
[email protected]
https://www.markarnold.com
LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter

Thank you for tuning in to episode 8 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Randy Smith, Co-founder of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Robert Johnston, CEO of Adlumin, Inc. Robert shares his journey from the military to the credit union industry and how he rediscovered purpose through this transition. He also shares cybersecurity best practices for credit union leaders and how to implement them during periods of rapid change.

Throughout the show Robert shares the data science behind Adlumin’s cybersecurity integration and how his team has been able to improve compliance for credit union CORE systems. He believes it is imperative for credit unions to increase security in order to stay relevant and mitigate major system threats. With the increase in technological breaches and hacking on the rise, Robert and his team have been working on compliance reporting that is easily accessible, seamless, and secure.

We also chat about new regulations with the incoming administration and what that looks like for Adlumin in their daily operations. Robert feels that the next wave of innovation is cloud-based data and its ability to increase the security of member information while allowing credit unions to maximize data retention.

As we wrap up the show, we learn that Robert and his team use just about every video conferencing platform available and are always looking for the next best. We were excited to learn what he does in his free time away from the office, what he is currently reading, and who he thinks about when he hears the word “success.” Enjoy my conversation with Robert Johnston!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Robert Johnston:
Robert Johnston, CEO of Adlumin, Inc.
[email protected]
www.adlumin.com
LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube