Tucson FCU’s new take on CUSOs includes a chief officer
Retiring CLO stays on to lead the cooperative’s new emphasis on credit union service organizations, including its own.
Tucson, AZ
Ellen Yacovone of Tucson Federal Credit Union($631.9, Tucson, AZ) saw her cooperative’s CUSO sit idle for much of its 20-plus years of existence and she knew it could do more. Now it’s her baby.
In April, Yacovone stepped down as chief lending officer and became instead the credit union’s first chief CUSO officer.
She’s now responsible for identifying new opportunities, managing relationships with current partners, vetting potential investments, and planning and implementing new activities and collaborations.
“That means much of my time goes into research. Thanks to Google not a day goes by without me learning something new,” Yacovone says. “I’m also creating the foundation upon which we’ll build our CUSO over the next several years. That means policies and procedures — structure — mundane but necessary work.”
continue reading »