Helping credit unions capture the right measures, at the right moments

Here’s the next installment in our periodic Q&A series highlighting women leaders in the fintech and banking space. We feature the innovation, fortitude, and experience it takes to thrive in this fast-changing industry. And our interviews explore business opportunities on the horizon for financial services providers and their technology partners, as well as the unique qualities that these leaders bring to their roles.

Credit union leaders are busy delivering the products their members rely on, so they can’t always devote time to collecting and analyzing feedback and data to precisely measure, manage, and act on service issues.

That’s where Credit Union Service Organizations, or CUSOs, which are state and federally regulated bodies typically structured as corporations, LLCs, or limited partnerships, play a key role in the credit union ecosystem. Often, CUSOs can pool resources, share expertise, and divide costs that tackle industry issues such as fraud mitigation. In other instances, they are partners engaged one-on-one with technology solutions, platform offerings, lending services, and operations support.

Michelle Bloedorn has been CEO of CUSO Member Loyalty Group since its 2008 founding. The organization was created out of the lead efforts of a handful of credit unions executives focused nearly 20 years ago on doing more with data-driven marketing, capitalizing on what was still a fledgling behavioral science known as member experience (MX), which is the credit union equivalent of customer experience (CX).

When we launched, many credit unions recognized the importance of measuring and managing the member experience, says Bloedorn. But she and the group who thought a pooled solution was the better route thought credit unions and their members deserved better.

Was there a particular motivation, shortcoming or challenge in banking or financial services that drove you toward your fintech solution/role?

Everyone was trying to do “MX” (member experience), but no one had yet defined a credible, unified approach. There was no standard methodology, rather just a patchwork of efforts, with most tracking systems internally built, inconsistent, and hard to benchmark.

This disconnect between intention and infrastructure became the motivation for launching our solution. A small group of deeply member-focused credit union leaders saw the need for something better and they helped recruit both customer experience experts and like-minded credit unions to co-create something bigger than any one institution could build alone.

We weren’t just implementing software, we were building a member-first methodology rooted in behavioral science, operational strategy, and loyalty principles. It was a community-led effort grounded in cooperative values and driven by a shared frustration that no one was getting it quite right.

Convincing others early on was less about selling and more about inviting. We positioned this as a collaborative experiment that aligned with the credit union movement’s DNA. That spirit of shared learning and continuous improvement still shapes how we deliver value today, even as our product suite has grown and our processes have become more scalable and tech-forward.

How do you think others describe your leadership style? Or, if it’s more important to you: How do you describe yourself?

I was part of the original group that helped launch the company. When we began searching for a formal leader, I put my name forward, not because I had all the answers, but because I believed deeply in the mission and the potential for collective impact. That collaborative spirit is still very much a part of how I lead today. We’re owned by our original founding credit unions, but we now serve more than 200 credit unions nationwide and we believe we offer one of the most comprehensive member experience benchmarks in the industry.

From day one, we’ve operated as a 100% remote organization, long before that was the norm. That distributed model has required intentional leadership: clarity of direction, strong communication and a culture built around trust. Our board has been clear in its guidance, as we are here to deliver best-in-class tools and best practices to the credit union movement. That focus anchors our decisions and keeps us aligned.

In terms of leadership style, we focus on hiring people who are already intrinsically motivated and aligned with our purpose. We provide clarity on organizational priorities and direction, and then I get out of their way. Autonomy, accountability, and alignment are foundational to how we work, so I want people to bring their best thinking, challenge the status quo, and feel deeply connected to the impact we’re making. My job is to remove barriers and keep us focused on what matters most.

What can the financial services industry do to make sure we are shaping future leaders, women especially, for our space?

One of the most important things we can do to shape future leaders, especially women, is to create space early and often for real-world responsibility and visibility. Leadership isn’t something that begins with a title, instead it begins with trust, exposure and the opportunity to make meaningful contributions that are seen and valued.

In financial services, we still too often equate readiness with traditional career paths or tenure. But when we broaden how we define potential, we uncover so many more capable leaders – especially among women and underrepresented groups. We should be asking: Who is driving results behind the scenes? Who is connecting the dots across teams? Who is already influencing without formal authority?

Mentorship is critical, of course, but sponsorship is even more powerful. We need more leaders who actively advocate for emerging talent, who name names in rooms that matter, who assign stretch opportunities and open doors.

At our company, we’ve seen the impact of creating an environment where team members, regardless of role or geography, can have a voice and lead with their strengths. The future of financial services depends on cultivating leaders who reflect the diversity of our members and communities, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention, inclusion and a willingness to share the spotlight.

What feels optimistic right now during this time of economic, regulatory, and technological change?

It’s true that there’s a lot in flux right now. Between regulatory shifts, economic volatility, and the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI (especially tools like ChatGPT), the ground is shifting beneath all of us. Retail financial services are experiencing a profound transformation, not just in how services are delivered, but in how relationships are built and sustained. Digital wallet adoption, embedded finance and the rise of open banking are just a few examples of trends reshaping the space.

And yet, what gives me optimism is how central the member experience remains in the face of all this change. If anything, its importance is growing. When everything else feels uncertain, the experience a member has with their credit union, like how understood, supported, and empowered they feel, becomes a differentiator that can’t be commoditized.

Our role now is to help credit unions navigate this new landscape. There are more tools than ever before, from new analytics platforms to AI-driven insights to evolving feedback channels, and it can be overwhelming. We see ourselves as a trusted guide, helping credit unions cut through the noise to focus on the right measures, at the right moments, to drive real growth and loyalty.

We’re not motivated by chasing trends. We’re here to help credit unions stay grounded in what matters most through delivering consistent, human-centered experiences, no matter how the tools evolve.

Read more from the series:
Cultivating micro-engagements can be key to banking CX

Parlay Finance’s Alex McLeod on smartly expanding capital access for small businesses

Beth McCoy on taking banking loyalty programs from afterthought to strategic advantage

Data-first strategies strengthen relationship banking and help smaller banks compete