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Quick Study
Starting as a do-it-all, part-time teller, CUES Chairman Carla Altepeter worked her way up by paying attention and learning from others at each stage of her career.

By Dave Windsheimer

Editor's note: The following first appeared in the January 2009 issue of Credit Union Management.

Carla Altepeter, CCE, wasn't like a lot of young people who agonized over career choices upon leaving high school. Despite this, her career path led her from a part-time, do-it-all position at a tiny credit union in Southern California to the CEO/president post of a Wisconsin credit union with over $320 million in assets and some 30,000 members.

Altepeter's leadership skills have again been tapped as she recently became chairman of the CUES Board of Directors during CEO Network in Las Vegas. She has been a member of the CUES Board since 2002.

A native of the San Fernando Valley, an area to the northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Altepeter made a quick leap from high school cap and gown to the credit union profession at Superscope Federal Credit Union (serving SONY employees) in Chatsworth. "My mother worked for SONY and found out about the opening," she recalls. "I applied, and that began my career in credit unions."

Because Superscope FCU's staff was small in number, Altepeter gained experience quickly. "There were only two people in the office, so we did just about everything," she laughs. "Everything was done by manual ledger. Even when checks were cut, they were typed and we had to go around the sponsor company to find board members to sign the checks. It was quite a different world than it is now with computers and electronic processes."

As for her time at Superscope FCU, "I enjoyed it. I just continued to gain experience and would apply for another credit union job. Somewhere along the line, around the age of 20, I decided that I was going to try and become the CEO of a credit union. That's when I put a plan together to get the qualifications, work experience and education I needed to become a CEO," Altepeter says.

The 1980s found Altepeter climbing the corporate ladder with stops at two more Southern California credit unions, Lockheed Federal Credit Union in Burbank and Rockwell Federal Credit Union in Downey.

"I started at Lockheed as a teller and then moved around to learn loan processing," Altepeter says. "I became a loan officer and I was put in charge of developing a phone center. I became a section supervisor prior to leaving."

In 1987, Altepeter moved to Rockwell FCU. "Each level taught me about management and credit union operations. As I became the vice president of credit at Rockwell, I learned more about strategic planning, policy setting and working with the board of directors and the executive group. That prepared me to become a CEO. At the same time, I went back to school and got my bachelor's in business administration."

Altepeter's herculean schedule at that time included working by day, taking college classes at night, raising two children and commuting 90 minutes each way to work.

She believes a key to her success in the credit union world is her desire to learn by watching what others have done. "I've been the type of person who always thought that I could learn by talking to people and watching people. I want to see what they do right and what they do wrong," she explains. "Then, I can figure out what's the best way for me. I'm not one to do something my own way; I like to learn from other people. Every boss teaches you something and that's a blessing."

CUES' new chairman of the board is quick to credit the people who have helped her career. "I had a mentor early on. When I was an hourly employee who wanted to become a supervisor, [my mentor] helped me become organized and think about managing people. She taught me a lot. Her name was Jeanette. She was promoted to supervisor ahead of me. She learned the ropes and then taught me what she knew. She was very instrumental," Altepeter recalls. "Then, I had a boss, Bob Harvey, who now works at a credit union in Seattle. He was a wonderful boss and mentor." (Harvey is president/CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union and is the 2003 CUES Executive of the Year.)

Altepeter realized her goal of becoming a CEO when she was placed in the top position of CitizensFirst FCU in Oshkosh, Wis., in 1992. She remains in that role today. Becoming a CEO was "what I thought it would be. I enjoy setting strategic direction, hiring good people and letting them do their job. It's a lot of fun," Altepeter says.

As for her new role as CUES chairman, Altepeter looks to her board chairman, John Bermingham, CCD, for inspiration. "He is an outstanding example of a board chairman who understands the role he has as a chairman: to help keep the board on course for strategic leadership and policy guidance. He's someone who handles things diplomatically and keeps the board members invested. I admire how he chairs our organization. He's someone that I watch from that vantage point."

Altepeter says she learned quickly upon becoming a CEO the value of an association like CUES. "I started as a member in 1993. When I became a CEO, I started looking for educational opportunities. CUES surfaced as one of the leading educational providers. I have been attending their conferences ever since I became a member. About five years ago, I talked with (CUES President/CEO) Fred Johnson about becoming more involved and an eventual board seat. He explained the election process and I decided that I would run."

According to Altepeter, she grew "to appreciate the strength of the organization when you are on the inside. Fred has hired very competent people who are dedicated to the organization and its mission. It's a joy to work with them and I've learned a lot that way. There are great peers on the board that you get to know very well. And, as I like to learn from others, it's a blessing to work so closely with talented people, both at CUES and on the board, that I can learn and grow from. It's been an awesome experience."

She's also gotten advice from CUES Director and Immediate Past Chairman Mark Hawkins, CEO of $915 million/112,000-member Altura Credit Union, Riverside, Calif., who told her to: "Have fun!" "In the last year, I have been watching him and talking with him about how he does things and what's important to him," she says.

CUES Goals
As for Altepeter's goal as chairman, "I would like to see CUES continue on the path it's been on. It does outstanding work. We also know that we need to expand the membership. One of the things Mark started was connecting more with the international community. I think that's really important. Through technology, we ought to be able to take CUES' quality educational opportunities to any credit union in the world. That's my hope to continue that."

In her spare time, Altepeter leads mission teams to foreign countries. "I'm really interested in helping to develop the credit union movement on an international level. I believe third-world countries need credit unions. I have come to realize the value of having a safe financial institution on a local level to help people prosper financially. I've been to several countries in Central and South America: Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana and Mexico. The people there often struggle because they don't have a trustworthy, solid financial system where they can save or borrow money to start microenterprises. I've become passionate with the idea of supporting the credit union movement on an international level so that these communities can benefit from what we have to offer."

Spreading The Word
Wherever she goes, Altepeter says she spreads the word about CUES and the services it offers. "I believe it's important to continue to tell our story because CUES offers high-quality educational opportunities, from the CEO Institute to Advanced Leadership Institute to Directors Leadership Institute. I want more people to take advantage of those opportunities."

And with today's struggling economy, Altepeter believes it's more important than ever for credit union executives to take advantage of CUES' educational offerings. "For example, with the CEO Network that was just presented, the agenda was switched. A lot of speakers were brought in who talked about the economy. They educated us in what's going on, how we got there and what credit unions should do. CUES is really nimble and can look at what's going on and bring in speakers that are timely as to what is going on in the industry in the U.S. and the world," she says.

With the present financial turmoil, Altepeter says credit unions are more important than ever. "I think the future is bright. We have a story to tell. We have a uniqueness about us that is a great offering to our members. We are democratically run organizations. We're cooperative. We don't get into some of the investments that banks do. Most credit unions don't get into the subprime market. We just continue to offer quality products and services and we provide those in a traditional way. Seeing what's happened in the financial industry has caused us to really value that and appreciate the value that it brings to our members."

Dave Windsheimer is a free-lance writer based in Johnstown, N.Y.

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