Futurestep Launches Dedicated Credit Union and Community Banking Recruiting Practice
October 12, 2016 – Futurestep, a Korn Ferry company that provides talent acquisition solutions, has established a dedicated credit union and community banking recruiting practice area and has named Mike Juratovac as sector leader. The practice falls within Futurestep’s North America financial services practice.
Mr. Juratovac brings with him more than 20 years of executive search and consulting experience, with a specific focus on financial services – credit unions and community banks in particular. Previously, he served as chief executive officer for executive recruiting and consulting firm O’Rourke & Associates, where he provided strategic oversight to all search engagements, managing client relationships and driving new business development.
Prior to that, Mr. Juratovac worked for San Francisco Bay area executive search firm Montgomery Resources. There, he focused on executive level finance, operations, and marketing positions. Mr. Juratovac has strong expertise in organizational development, compensation design, recruitment strategy and workforce planning.
As part of its rollout, Futurestep has also added Mary Leonardi as a managing consultant in its new credit union and community banking practice. Having worked in the recruiting and talent management space for more than 15 years, Ms. Leonardi has a strong background in the areas of human resources and executive recruitment & retention strategies within the credit union and broad financial services industries.
She also joins Futurestep from O’Rourke & Associates, where she was a director on the executive search and consulting team responsible for managing executive search projects and human resource consulting nationwide for credit union and banking clients. Before that, Ms. Leonardi was president of Strategic Connections and associate vice president of talent management at Security Finance. She also served in various HR roles with America’s First Federal Credit Union and 1 Vision Inc.
“With the addition of Mike and Mary, we are making a strategic investment in in our financial services practice that enables us to better serve our credit union and community banking clients across Korn Ferry’s three lines of business,” said Gloria Mirrione, North American market leader, Korn Ferry Futurestep financial services.
“We’re excited to bring on Mike and Mary, who both have stellar reputations as leaders and a great team in this space,” said Eric Goldstein, global market leader, Korn Ferry Futurestep financial services. “We see enormous potential for this practice, as the popularity of credit unions is skyrocketing among consumers as they typically offer lower fees and better returns. Additionally, following the 2008 financial crisis, many U.S. consumers moved their savings from large banks to credit unions and community banks.”
Credit Unions Witnessing Growth
According to the National Credit Union Administration, there are nearly 6,000 federally insured credit unions in the U.S., with more than $1.2 trillion in assets.
“As the credit union industry continues to evolve in complexity and sophistication, the need for strategically placed business partners who can provide counsel on compensation, board governance and talent acquisition has never been more important,” said Mr. Juratovac. “The industry as a whole has become increasingly reliant on talent consulting services, including talent acquisition, workforce planning and employee development. Korn Ferry Futurestep is uniquely positioned to help these organizations expand and become more efficient and profitable.”
According to research from credit union specialist recruiters D. Hilton Associates, more than 4,000 of the credit union industry’s CEOs and senior managers have left or will be leaving the workforce in the next five years. Therefore, according to one of the firm’s most recent reports, leadership development, succession planning and employee retention have never been more critical than now.
Turning to Search Firms to Find Talent
As a result, Credit Unions have been looking to executive search firms in droves to fill senior leadership roles. Here’s a look at a few recent assignments taken from the Hunt Scanlon archives.
- McDermott & Bull recruited Val Scott as chief technology and innovation officer to Golden 1 Credit Union, the nation’s sixth largest Credit Union with $10 billion in assets. The search was led by Brandon Biegenzahn, co-chair of the firm’s financial institutions practice, along with associate consultant Michelle Davis. A few months ago, McDermott & Bull also placed George Myers as chief human resources officer (CHRO) with Golden 1. The search was also led by the same McDermott & Bull team.
- O’Rourke and Associates placed Brad Douglas as chief executive officer of the Heartland Credit Union Association (HCUA). HCUA is the result of the consolidation of the Kansas Credit Union Association and the Missouri Credit Union Association.
- D. Hilton Associates tapped Tracy McCord as VP of marketing at East Idaho Credit Union. East Idaho Credit Union was founded in 1935 under the name Idaho Falls U.S. Government Employees Federal Credit Union. Today, it remains one of the oldest Credit Unions in Eastern Idaho and operates under both a community charter and an expanded charter based on occupation.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
