LAS VEGAS — With the average age of today's member now at 48 years coupled with increased consolidation in the industry, credit unions are at a crossroads when it comes to differentiation. Newly-installed NACUSO President/ CEO Tom Davis shared with attendees the association's vision for its National Center for Collaboration and Innovation to help set credit unions apart from the competition and bring value to members. The center's four pillars are critical thinking, innovations, collaboration and implementation. The center's effort is to bring credit unions and CUSOs together in an open forum to bring innovative solutions to the industry.

"The industry is at a pivotal point–do we keep doing what we've been doing or do you reinvent yourself," Davis said, adding a key question becomes is the credit union model sustainable over the long-term. Ninety-percent of big organizations tend to stall at the implementation level because 15% of the executive teams don't spend enough time discussing strategy. "Emotional reasons are the biggest reasons why people aren't cooperating," Davis said. "An industry does not age because it is at a growth curve but because it quits pursuing an ideal." –[email protected]