Faced with the changing demographics of a community coupled with a struggle to repay borrowed secondary capital from the U.S. Treasury, leadership at North Side Community Federal Credit Union knew a merger was in their future.

But they wanted to make sure the merger took place on their own terms.

“We felt our legacy was really important and we didn’t want to see that go away,” says Sarah Marshall, former CEO of the $9 million asset credit union. “We wanted to make sure we were proactive and had room to leverage everything we built.”

North Side Community Federal recently merged with $860 million asset Great Lakes Credit Union in Bannockburn, Ill. Marshall says the merger allows the membership to take advantage of more products and services.

For Marshall, who is now chief community development officer at Great Lakes, it’s an opportunity to explore some of the ideas she didn’t have the resources to pursue at North Side Community Federal while also offering the former credit union’s innovative products and services to a larger member base.

Marshall discusses North Side Community Federal Credit Union’s recent merger with Great Lakes Credit Union, what it means for the former credit union’s members, organizational culture, how to navigate change, and more in this episode of the CUNA News Podcast.

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In this episode:

2:45: Why North Side Community Federal Credit Union sought out a merger partner

4:17: The decision to choose Great Lakes Credit Union as a merger partner

6:54: Marshall's new role as chief community development officer

9:03: Defining organizational culture

10:30: Why a credit union should have an organizational culture in place

17:07: Leading an organization through change