A Vision for Members, Employees

CEO Eric Renaud ‘Believes in What We’re Doing’

By Jay Gonzales

Being president and CEO of a billion-dollar credit union was never really on Eric Renaud’s radar as he journeyed through his career, in financial services, at a software company, at a bank and eventually to Pima Federal Credit Union.

“CEO was never in my view,” Renaud said as he sat in his office as president and CEO of Pima Federal. “I think I was really looking at someday achieving chief financial officer. I thought there was an opportunity for that in the credit union space.”

That opportunity came while he was living in the Phoenix metropolitan area in 2011 working for a credit union when an executive recruiter contacted him about a CFO position at Pima Federal. Having gotten into the credit union business in 2003 as a treasurer and in finance, he had begun to understand how the credit union model was different from banks – and he liked it.

“I didn’t fully understand the distinction between a bank and a credit union at first. That understanding developed over time,” Renaud said. “What I came to deeply appreciate is that, while financial performance matters, it is not the sole measure of our success. At the heart of what we do is helping each member navigate their own financial journey and improve their financial well-being.” 

That philosophy would eventually become central to the way he approaches leadership at Pima Federal both with members and with employees.

After serving as CFO at Pima Federal for a little more than four years, he accepted the interim president and CEO position in October 2015. Four months later, he was named president and CEO.

The transition brought a different set of challenges.

Renaud had gone from being an executive peer to leading many of those same executives. Relationships changed, he said, and he had to learn how to balance his own goals for the organization with supporting the leaders responsible for individual areas of the credit union.

But one issue quickly became clear to him − Pima Federal needed to become more financially and operationally efficient to be able to provide the services it needed to for its members and its employees.

That value, in his view, went beyond simply providing the friendly, personal service to members that most credit unions are known for. He knows members also want competitive loan and deposit rates and fewer fees and most of the services they can get at a bank. Renaud believed that financial discipline would make those things possible.

It’s a two-sided coin – serving the members while creating a culture where employees buy into a member-first philosophy.

“One of the things I really admire about him is when he comes into a room or when he has an idea or if one of his staff has an idea, there’s genuine enthusiasm,” said Pima Federal Board Chair Jason Larter. “He believes in what we’re doing. It’s not a brochure. It’s not a tag-line. He truly believes in what we’re    doing.”

“I want people to feel comfortable being genuinely themselves at work, while also inspiring one another to be a little better each day than we were the day before.” Renaud said. “I think we’ve been able to find employees that really appreciate that, resonate with that, support that.”

His leadership philosophy also places a premium on knowing employees personally. Renaud said he tries to meet with every department without its executive at least once a year, giving him an opportunity to know employees by name and allowing them to see him as a person rather than simply as the CEO.

Celyna Cervantes, EVP, chief growth and strategy officer, said Renaud’s vision of the culture is more than words.

“I think he models it,” Cervantes said. “You see it when he’s out interacting with the community. He’s very clear with what our vision is.

“He challenges us to think about what it truly means to make an impact in the community and what we want Pima Federal to represent,” Cervantes said. “That gives us the opportunity to share our input and creates deeper buy-in because we understand the why.”

And his concern for employees extends beyond their work at Pima Federal.

“I’m deeply invested in our employees,” Renaud said. “I want them to know we care not only about who they are and the work they do at Pima, but also about their future and the path they’re building beyond our organization.”  

Pictured above – Eric Renaud,President & CEO, Pima Federal Credit Union. Photo by Brent G. Mathis

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