Marketing leader ‘gets out of the way’

Molly Falconer has experienced the credit union movement from many perspectives around the country.

She began her credit union journey as an executive assistant with Guadalupe Credit Union in Santa Fe, N.M., where she ultimately became marketing director.

Falconer later worked as a consultant with the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (now called Inclusiv), where she helped credit unions secure $3.5 million in federal funds to support community development efforts.

For the past three years she has been the director of member experience and marketing for $2.5 billion asset Together Credit Union in St. Louis.

Falconer led her marketing team to multiple accolades in 2020, including a CUNA Diamond Award and Hermes Creative Award for the credit union’s financial education series on YouTube.

“She also guided us through communication efforts during a core conversion followed by the pandemic, resulting in even stronger relationships with our members,” says Kim Kaporis, digital marketing specialist.

Although Falconer has plenty of marketing experience, her passion and determination also make her an effective leader. She continually looks for new and innovative ways to shape and present the credit union’s mission statement and core values.

“Molly is the primary advocate for the creative marketing team,” Kaporis says. “She is the unspoken mentor for many young professionals at the credit union and exemplifies a ‘yes, and’ approach to every task.”

Falconer loves the collaborative nature of the credit union industry and its drive to improve members’ lives. The pandemic made this readily apparent.

“We learned we were more capable than we thought for quick collaboration, decision-making, and embracing new technology,” says Falconer. “It also forced us to challenge a lot of assumptions, which has made us more effective as a team and as a credit union.”

Falconer has complete trust in her marketing department—her goal every day is to “get out of my team’s way.”

Currently she is building a more integrated business intelligence program that will enhance personalization with members by offering products that are best suited to their individual needs. 

She also is passionate about telling the story of human-centered banking.

“CUNA’s ‘Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union’ campaign is a great start for awareness,” Falconer says. “But we still need to do more to show—and not just tell—how people help people through credit unions, especially at a local level.”