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DAVIS LEAVING NACUSO To “Walk the Talk” and Pursue Other Collaborative Opportunities

After 20 years of serving on the Board of Directors and nearly four years as CEO of NACUSO, Tom Davis will be moving on to another chapter in his career in the credit union industry.

“It’s time to let someone else take lead at NACUSO,” said Davis. When Davis stepped up to accept the CEO position nearly 4 years ago, he did so with the Board’s agreement that he could continue part-time with Davis & Company, his management consulting firm, and also remain as a partner in CUSO Development Company LLC. With the growth of the subsidiaries of CUSO Development Company, Davis will serve as CEO of the multi-owned CUSO, and will use the opportunity to “walk the talk” that he espoused in NACUSO and build collaborative businesses.

“Our mission at NACUSO focuses on being the catalyst for collaboration and innovation for the growth of credit unions and sustainability of the industry,” said Davis. “NACUSO has been a proponent of collaboration, scalable platforms, and networked business design and our objective has been to help credit unions understand and adopt that model.”

During Davis’ direction as CEO, NACUSO focused on promoting the benefits of collaboration and networked business design. Davis was a relentless champion of collaboration and designed and implemented conferences and academic programs around this theme. He has been a popular speaker on collaboration at industry conferences. While at NACUSO, Davis initiated the National Center for Collaboration and Innovation which is supported by four strategic processes 1) critical thinking, 2) innovation and value creation, 3) collaboration, and 4) implementation. Programs initiated through the National Center include the joint educational program on Collaboration and Networked Businesses in partnership with Pepperdine University, annual conferences with a focus on collaboration, a regional conference series featuring 3.0: The Next Generation of Collaboration, as well as regulatory advocacy for CUSOs.

Looking back over his tenure at NACUSO, Davis stated “there have been many  highlights associated with my involvement in NACUSO over the years. But most paramount, was the opportunity to meet and work with some outstanding people — NACUSO members, past and present NACUSO Board members, Gold and Platinum Partners, and other sponsors. These individuals and organizations inspired me and provided phenomenal support in developing a vision and programs for NACUSO. Undoubtedly, they helped credit unions, CUSOs, and the industry to move forward. In particular, the late Dave Serlo, PSCU CEO and NACUSO Board Chairman, was a great mentor and friend and provided many tutorials on organizational leadership and the benefits of collaboration.”

Asked if he would have any advice for credit unions moving forward in the future, Davis remarked, “let’s focus not just on winning battles, but on winning the war. And we will do that through the credit union and industry collaboration.”

Pete Snyder, NACUSO Chairman, had these comments about Davis’ contributions to NACUSO: “Tom brought an academic flair combined with a passion for credit union and industry collaboration to NACUSO. As a direct result of his vision and leadership, NACUSO has been proactive in providing credit unions with the collaborative strategies and resources which address the significant modeling challenges that credit unions must put in place to sustain themselves. He helped the Board to articulate a vision for the association which focused on collaboration and innovation and implement it through many types of educational experiences for our membership. He is a great leader and we will have our work cut out for us in finding his replacement.”

Judy Sandberg, NACUSO’S Vice Chairman, had this say: “We appreciate all of Tom’s contributions to NACUSO particularly his innovative thinking, collaborative knowledge, and pursuit of networked business strategies that will help transform and sustain the industry in the future. He leaves a legacy of transformational programs and activities that NACUSO can build on. We will surely miss his leadership, passion, and inspirational spirit. ”

Davis’ resignation from NACUSO will be effective at the end of this year. In his role as a CUSO CEO, he will remain as an active supporter of NACUSO. NACUSO has formed a CEO Search Committee and will be initiating a search for Davis’ replacement. Interested parties should contact Mark Zook, CEO MaPS Credit Union, 503.375.0455, mzook@mapscu.com.