EAST WINDSOR, N.J. — For Wayne Hudson, it took a health scare to make the workaholic sit down and reflect on where he wanted his priorities to be.
The president/CEO of McGraw-Hill Employees Federal Credit Union recently announced he would retire June 1 after 13 years at the helm. Under his tenure, the CU went from one branch and 12 employees to four branches, 50 employees, 14,800 members and more than $180 million in assets.
Left up to Hudson, he would have continued working at what he describes as the best job in the world, but when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, the battle to fight the disease took some of the wind out of his sails. Fortunately, he has been in remission for more than a year and is thankful for his improved health.
"When you have problems like this, you kind of sit back and reflect on what's really important," Hudson said. "It was time for me to go into a different mindset."
Hudson came to MHEFCU after working at several insolvent small credit unions that he helped to get back on sound operating ground. Prior to that, he spent more than 30 years in the banking field, leaving in 1990 as the industry reeled from a litany of mergers and downsizing. He recalls seeing how customer service began to erode when tellers were timed for each transaction. If they took more than five minutes, then the customer wasn't being served. Now, he compares the interaction to "being in a deli and taking a number."
"I found a home [with credit unions]," Hudson said. "I'm a people person and credit unions are about people helping people. Credit unions can still provide members with the service they deserve."
When Hudson became president/CEO of MHEFCU in September 1994, products were limited to savings and mortgages and there was one branch based at McGraw-Hill's headquarters. A year later, the CU took over the information and publishing giant's cash units. In 1998 and 1999, McGraw-Hill consolidated its nine locations in New York into three centers, one of which was located in the Rockefeller Building. The company later moved out of Manhattan to where rent wasn't as high. The CU followed suit and set up branches in the company's three centers. With the growth, MHEFCU outgrew its main office and in July 2005, moved its central operations to its current 19,900 square-foot headquarters building.
One problem Hudson tackled right away was the bulk of mortgages that made up 87% of the CU's assets. Members were flocking to MHEFCU's above market rates, he said. To balance the portfolio out, Hudson had to shrink savings rates and as a result, assets took a $20 million drop.
"From that day on, we never looked back," Hudson said. "We've added more products, redid the Web site and we're constantly looking at member needs and how we can accommodate them on a technical basis."
Indeed, the CU beefed up its offerings to include individual retirement accounts, investment and insurance provided through MEMBERS Financial Services, home banking and online bill payment. A number of accounts were added to encourage young people to save including the Small Investors Club account for children up to age 12 and the Young Investors Club account for teens 13-17.
Hudson also wanted to ensure that members, who, on average earn $86,000 and live not just in New York and New Jersey, but in Iowa, Ohio, California and Illinois, had around-the-clock access to their accounts. A large majority of the CU's transactions are done through the Web site where members spend an average of 7.5 minutes.
At 19% capital, Hudson said MHEFCU "is at the crossroads." Every big corporation goes through periods of downsizing and McGraw-Hill is no exception. Subsequently, the CU loses members during these periods. To help buffer that attrition, it began courting select employee groups and currently serves nearly 60 including a French bank based in New York.
Over the years, Hudson has become close to the CU's members and will miss that interaction.
"Many of our members have become more than casual acquaintances during the past 13 years," he said. "It has truly been a pleasure to see children going off to college knowing you have had a hand in funding it or talking with a member who just purchased his or her first home or opened a child's saving program for their new arrival."
He won't be going too far from his second home. The board will retain him as a consultant to serve as a sounding board including assisting with choosing his successor. Hudson and his wife are planning to move to South Carolina soon and they're both looking forward to trips to Europe, Alaska and the Far East over the next few years.
"If my family had their druthers, they would have wanted me to retire three years ago," Hudson said. "I could probably work until I'm 90. I love what I do but I think I will have a great time during this next phase of my life." –msamaad@cutimes.com
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