When the announcement that Rodney Showmar would be the newpresident/CEO of Arkansas Federal Credit Union hit the desks ofsavvy trade press editors, it caught their attention.

What sparked their interest was the fact that Showmar'sbackground is in marketing. That used to be more common. But today,most credit union CEOs bring backgrounds in accounting, finance orsimilar fields, and their résumés list jobs with financialinstitutions instead of department stores.

Does Showmar think there could be a trend back to marketingcredentials? He chuckled.

“I could say I hope so,” he quipped. “I guess it depends on theindividual credit union and what needs they have. Thankfully forme, at this credit union, the board thought we needed more of amarketing and operations background.”

Until moving into the CEO slot Aug. 4, Showmar served as AFCU'sSVP and COO. Prior to joining the credit union in 2001, he was asenior buyer with Dillard's Department Stores. He has also servedas senior marketing research analyst at Reliant Energy and asfounder and president of Partygras Party Rentals in Little Rock,Ark.

Showmar believes the marketing and operations know-how he gainedin those jobs has a major impact on his work at the creditunion.

“It was a great training ground for today,” he said. “We thinkof banking and credit unions as maybe different industries. Inreality, we have stores, just as Walmart and others have stores. Wehave to create an experience for our members coming into ourstores.

“That was a huge help in my career, to understand consumerbehavior from a retail perspective. It's a little more difficultfor credit unions because we really don't have a product that we'reselling. Dillard's sells shoes, and if my wife goes to Dillard'sand buys shoes, and she loves those shoes, then she lovesDillard's. But members don't come in here and walk away withthings. The only thing they walk away with is the interaction theyhad with us.”

Marketing research ties in, Showmar explained, because if youcan figure out how members are going to react to a certainpromotion or product or service, that helps you understand what youneed to provide.

He tells new employees the credit union is in a commoditybusiness. Pretty much everything members can get at an AFCU branchthey can obtain at another financial institution that's afive-minute drive away. The member experience is the only thingthat is different. Someone has to want to drive past sevendifferent banks and credit unions to visit AFCU.

“We have to do whatever we need to do to make the member want tocome here instead of someplace else,” Showmar said.

Then there's his entrepreneurial spirit that started Partygras.Back in the mid-1990s, one of Showmar's cousin, who was in theparty rental business, decided it would be great if they could opentheir own company.

“It was very successful, it was fun and very educational,”Showmar recalled. “The business still continues today.”

Turning back to AFCU, he said today's financial environment isextremely competitive. From a regional or state perspective, thecredit union faces a typical set of rivals ranging from communitybanks to national banks. Then there are newer names, nontraditionalinstitutions such as Apple, Google, PayPal and Walmart.

Those new kids on the block are going to try to figure out howto get into financial services, Showmar said. The competitorscredit unions see right now are not necessarily going to be themajor challengers in the future. It's the unseen, unknowncontenders that concern him going forward.

“The only thing a checking account does is help you pay forstuff,” Showmar stated. “So, if somebody can help you come up witha way to pay without needing a bank or credit union, they're goingto start taking market share away. If there's a way for members toacquire goods without needing a loan at the credit union, that'scompetition.”

A major challenge is trying to figure out the next step fortechnology. The pace of change continues to grow exponentially, andShowmar predicted the speed of innovation in the next five yearswill outstrip the previous decade.

As for AFCU joining the Billionaires Club, Showmar said thecredit union did it the old fashioned way: going out and earningbusiness. There has only been one small merger.

Instead the credit union has worked to boost wallet share. Therehas also been a huge push into indirect lending. Instead of beingopen on Saturday and Sunday, AFCU lets the car dealers remain openand take care of members as they're buying vehicles.

Staff at the credit union credit outgoing President/CEO LarryBiernacki for much of AFCU's growth, pointing out that he drove thebus. Biernacki, in turn, is quick to praise employees andmembers.

“This accomplishment reflects the dedication of our board andthe commitment of our staff to our vision – to improve eachmember's financial life,” he said. “Our members' support is shownin our growth.”

AFCU is spread across the state, and if you walk into variousbranches you'll see demographics that reflect each community. Insome areas, there may be older members. In others, college studentsmay dominate and in another city, there may be large numbers ofurban businesspeople.

Showmar can relate to Arkansas demographics. He's aself-described home-town boy who was born in Little Rock, attendedthe University of Arkansas, and joined Little Rock-based Dillard'sright out of college.

Married and the father to a 24-year-old son, Showmar likes tospend his weekends and evenings hiking, on a golf course, out fordinner, or playing cards or board games at his house or a friend'shome.

His advice to other CEOs is simple: “I hire people who aresmarter and better than I am. Let them go, see what they do best,and stay out of their way for the most part.”