<p>BATON ROUGE, La. – Craig Uffman said he is leaving Internet lending firm APPRO Systems to launch a research and consulting firm. Uffman was president and COO of APPRO Systems. Credit unions are a key target market for APPRO. Craig's brother, Steve Uffman, remains as APPRO's CEO. Uffman said the newly-formed Uffman Group will specialize in helping organizations grow through improving marketing and technology strategies. Its specialty will be in improving the lending process to increase consumer and small business loan volumes. "My first and greatest interest is to find ways to make organizations become more productive and profitable," said Uffman.</p>