Gary E. Furtado is CEO and president of Navigant Credit Union, and recently announced he will be retiring after 44 years with the company. He spoke with PBN about his leadership of the largest credit union in the state and what challenges lie ahead for the industry.
PBN: What are some of your proudest moments/greatest accomplishments in your tenure at Navigant?
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
FURTADO: It’s still hard for me to believe, but I’ve been working at Navigant Credit Union for my entire 44-year professional career, serving as president/CEO for 35 of those years. In that time, we’ve changed our name and experienced an extraordinary amount of growth, expanding from a one-location community credit union exclusively serving Central Falls to the 23-branch, statewide network we are today.
I’m certainly proud to have had the opportunity to serve in a leadership role throughout that growth, but, looking back, what makes me the most proud is the fact that we never lost sight of our mission or community-focused values. Navigant Credit Union is a born-and-bred Rhode Island business dedicated to helping our neighbors realize their financial dreams, and that collective, inherent sense of purpose has stuck with us through every new hire, every evolution of our business and every branch opening.
Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to have had our hard work recognized by our peers in Rhode Island and beyond. The shelf spaces in our corporate offices in Smithfield proudly display plaques and certificates that tell the story of our team’s hard work and achievements. Out of everything displayed in my office or in the lobby, though, nothing brings me more pride than the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Ben Mondor Award, which annually recognizes a business leader for his or her community service. My name is on the trophy, but it belongs to Navigant Credit Union as a whole.
Between the tens of millions of dollars we’ve donated and the thousands of community service hours our team has volunteered to the organizations and individuals who are making Rhode Island a better place, I am humbled and speechlessly proud to have had an opportunity to play my small part in making a real difference in the home that has given me and my family a life we wouldn’t trade for anything.
PBN: Do you have any regrets or things you would do differently?
FURTADO: I won’t lie to myself, or to your readers, and claim I’ve thrown a perfect game over the course of my career. Just like anybody else who has clocked in and out of work for the better part of five decades, I’ve had my share of rough days at the office. I’ve made a few decisions I wish I could have back, and at times because their talent simply outgrew our growth opportunities, I’ve seen a few phenomenal colleagues get away.
But, looking at my career as a whole, I feel blessed to honestly say I’m stepping away without any significant professional regrets. As a team, we’ve done our best to make a difference in the lives of our members and in the state of Rhode Island as a whole – and I truly believe our track record of success, and our reputation throughout the business community, speaks for itself.
PBN: To what do you attribute the credit union’s growth to what is now the largest market share of any credit union in Rhode Island?
FURTADO: It’s a clichéd response for a soon-to-be-retiree, but clichés can be true: Our “secret” is our people. Navigant Credit Union is home to a team of more than 300 professionals, and every one of them is fully committed to our mission and our members. We trust each other, and we are true believers in the value member-owned credit unions can bring to the community.
We’ve taken a slow, steady and strategic approach to Navigant Credit Union’s expansion efforts across Rhode Island, always making a point to avoid “growth for growth’s sake.” It’s our reputation and our results, which, respectively, have been cultivated and achieved by our people, that have made this growth strategy so successful. We’ve earned the trust of more than 125,000 members, and we work hard every day to prove that we deserve it.
PBN: What do you see as the greatest challenges that lie ahead, for Navigant and the industry as a whole?
FURTADO: Some combination of competition and economic volatility is always going to be the financial industry’s greatest challenge. Between the rapid evolution in technology and changes in consumers’ preferences and behavior, this business looks completely different today than it did 44 years ago.
Navigant Credit Union has continued to enjoy success through all of these changes because we listen to our members, and we haven’t been afraid to evolve. We might be among the country’s oldest credit unions, but we’re proud of our track record of staying ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and innovation.
Moving forward, we need to double down on that history of adaptation. As has been the case for decades, we’ll be competing with the large, deep-pocketed, legacy financial institutions, but we’ll also need to answer to the smaller, digital-only banks that are appealing to younger consumers. Nothing is ever easy, but I’m confident Navigant Credit Union is well positioned to continue evolving and succeeding in an ever-changing market.
PBN: What advice would you offer to your successor?
FURTADO: Treat everybody around you with respect and empathy. Provide your team with the resources and direction they need to grow and succeed, and then trust them to do what they do best. Never stop listening; never stop learning; and, even if you get it wrong a few times, never stop trying to make a difference.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
