As chief information officer for the $1.4 billion, Austin, Texas-based A+ Federal Credit Union, O.J. (Orenthal Jabari) Gilder strives to keep up with technology and security changes while assuring the scalability of all implementations.

“Developers must do more than simply develop, they must work as business analysts as well,” explained Gilder, CU Times' 2018 Trailblazer Award winner for IT Executive of the Year.

Gilder, who is responsible for more than $3.5 million in annual spending budgets, oversaw a number of projects over the years that saved the credit union money and streamlined procedures.

One of the top projects on that list was remote deposit capture. “Many years ago, A+FCU was the first/only credit union in Austin to offer remote check deposit via custom development through online banking,” Gilder said. The product lasted until mobile deposit became available on its mobile app in 2013.

Developing its initial remote deposit application, Gilder recalled, was one of the credit union's more creative solutions. “That was back in 2009 when mobile deposit wasn't a thing yet,” he said.

A+FCU worked through several technical and business issues, including remote check deposit risks and the creation of internal procedures. Gilder added it was the credit union's first venture into product development that required both an IT and business perspective.

More recently, A+FCU developed custom loan and account origination systems that lowered costs and boosted efficiency. In addition, it reduced the new account opening time from 45 minutes to less than 20 minutes. “We've gotten a lot slicker with loan application system and new account workflows that are 100% customized to us,” Gilder said. The new account product earned A+FCU special recognition from its core provider, Symitar.

Other notable IT projects included:

A custom check-in kiosk, which saves on system purchasing costs and, according to Gilder, offers unintended benefits such as fraud tracking/research capabilities, and a branch chat tool to better assist members.
A data analytics project with AdvantEdge CMG, which reduced member churn while saving money, adding revenue and creating organizational efficiencies.

“Most financial products are pretty much standard from institution to institution, but I think our goal typically is to make it easy for our members to use,” Gilder said. He explained if the credit union can create something instead of buying it, it retains the ability to customize it as much as possible.

Another key challenge for Gilder is time management due to increasing demands. “As my workload increases, my abilities to delegate and train have been forced to improve as well.” He added in many ways, overloading someone can be the best way to get them to let go of the things someone else can do. “It also requires them to be more creative in finding more efficient ways to do things, or figure out what isn't important and stop doing those things.”

Communicating on a regular basis with others throughout the organization has made Gilder more effective at his job. The CIO pointed out he puts people on projects that require them to understand the credit union's business needs and share its technical capabilities, as well as help non-IT folks to understand how information flows and compare what they ultimately seek against what they think is possible.

Gilder has built camaraderie with a variety of personality types. “The needs of developers are very different from the needs of marketers. I took time and continue to take time to get to know everyone on my staff on a personal level so I can relate to them, and to better enable me to understand how to communicate with them,” he said.

He tries to keep things more informal in terms of daily communication. Aside from holding regular meetings, he walks around the offices daily to greet and chat with everybody on his team.

When it comes to senior management, Gilder conceded A+FCU's executives are all very different and bring a variety of strengths to the table. The CIO noted they speak candidly with one another and sometimes aren't on the same page, but respect each other enough to listen and work through their differences. “The board is great and typically very supportive of IT needs so that's a plus for me when I bring things to them.”

One of the continuing challenges is training frontline staff to keep pace with the frequent technology and software-related changes. Gilder said he and his IT staff spend a lot of time analyzing best case versus worst case scenarios when it comes to making a decision on an upgrade; they also examine how to reduce staff training burdens when a system upgrade is made.

Gilder, who was born and raised in Austin, completed most of his schooling in the area, and finding a job with a credit union seemed almost pre-destined for the CIO. During his junior year as an undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin, Gilder learned he was going to be a father, so he needed a job with steady hours. “I had been a member of a credit union for years and saw several postings with set hours from 1 to 6 p.m., put in applications and was hired as a teller.”

Gilder has worked for credit unions ever since – for A+FCU from 1998 to 2008 and from 2011 to present, and Brazos Valley Schools Credit Union in nearby Katy, Texas from 2009 to 2011.

“I thrive off of autonomy and have pretty much defined every role that I have been in since I graduated college,” explained Gilder, who worked himself up the ladder from a part-time teller position to proof and computer operator positions; then to network administrator, programming, and IT and marketing management positions; and finally to CIO.

As A+FCU's CIO, Gilder is also responsible for developing network and computer support teams, marketing, community education, business development, data analytics/business intelligence, member experience and engagement, and efficiency and automation.

During his downtime, Gilder likes to hang with friends (“preferably somewhere outdoors”); research various topics of interest (i.e. cars, IT topics, HR); work on molding and millwork projects around the house; and do yard work (when it's not 100 degrees outside). He also intends to try and get back into running, but pointed out, “With age come aches and pains, and I'm not willing to run in the dark any more like I used to years back.”

Gilder credits his mother and professional team for his inspiration. “Literally many people have touched my life,” he said. “My greatest mentor was my mother who was my best friend. She gave me all the tools I needed to be a success and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I'm also inspired by my senior leadership team and how much they give of themselves to the company on a daily basis.”

The CIO provided this savvy professional advice: “Share your knowledge and remember everyone has a story with their own struggle. So, leaders must recognize and celebrate the individual and how they got where they are. No job is beneath you and no job description is comprehensive, so be willing to do any job if you want to be seen as an asset. You are responsible for managing your own career – never rely on your manager to do it for you.”

Instant Insights /

IT Executive of the Year: Gilder Promotes Efficiency, Ease

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