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My name is Mike, from La Capitol Federal Credit Union, Baton Rouge, La., and I am CUES.

Since my mother was a credit union CEO, I grew up in the financial services industry. At the age of six, I was folding statements for five cents a day. My first real job, however, was working for Causey Furniture, moving antiques during the summer.

I started in the movement while attending Louisiana State University. I worked nights for Campus Federal Credit Union, running the computer and handling their check sorting.

After graduation, I moved to Dallas and worked for JC Penny as an internal auditor. While there, I became a CPA. I proceeded to work with programmers and wrote software for JC Penny Life Insurance Company.

La Capitol Federal Credit Union initially contacted me to write software for them. It started as a contract relationship, but I was hired by the credit union in 1993 to set up an internal audit program. I was then promoted to controller, in 1999 EVP/CFO, and in 2010 President/CEO.

I joined CUES® in 1999 because the CEO at that time was retiring and the board felt the incoming CEO and I needed the networking and education CUES provided. In the beginning, we primarily utilized CUES Net™ and “Members Share.” I personally found a lot of valuable information in “Members Share,” and have even posted policies and procedures out there for my fellow colleagues.

From there, I began to attend the executive education programs—CEO Institute was very good and Advanced Leadership Institute was a real eye opener. In fact, a number of years ago, the board was looking at me as a potential successor for the current CEO, but was unsure if I was the right candidate. After attending CEO Institute I, and using what I had learned on scenario/strategic planning to facilitate the next board retreat, I earned the confidence of the board and the discussion of a national search for a replacement CEO ended.

Now, my goal is to use what I learned at the CEO Institutes, and other venues, to take my credit union into the future and make it an even better institution than it is today. La Capitol FCU has a lot of potential and I would love to see it grow and continue to fulfill its mission of improving the financial wellbeing of its members.

My favorite aspect of being a CUES member is the educational offerings and networking opportunities with credit union executives. I’ve gone to Execu/Summit® almost every year for four or five years now and enjoy seeing the same people over and over again. I even keep in touch with a few of them year-round.