STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.–The CEO of the fourth-largest credit union in the country shared her backstory and how it helped her to get where she is today, while calling on credit unions to come together to scale up their service to underserved markets.
Beverly Anderson, CEO of the $25.8-billion BECU in Tukwila, Wash., told the African American Credit Union Coalition’s annual conference, that she is still working on the legacy she hopes to leave and that she is not done building.
Anderson shared her own story of growing up in Paducah, Ky., where her parents always stressed that she and her siblings could be whatever they wanted to be when they grew up. Her father was the well-respected business manager of a vocational school for Black students, who often helped those in need of money or something to eat. Her mother was a nurse at a local hospital.
‘Going to be Somebody’
In 1998, after her father died, Anderson said she was cleaning out his files when she learned her father’s job had been in jeopardy when the state of Kentucky made the school part of the bigger school system. In the file she found a letter in which he asked for employment, saying, “My baby girl needs to go to school. She is amazing and she’s going to be somebody.”
He would get that job, even if it wasn’t as prestigious as his prior position.
She also recalled her mother’s own lessons for her.
“There was a time when my brother had some issues and I was so angry,” Anderson related. “I couldn’t understand how someone could not keep his life in order. And my mother said you’ve got to learn to forgive people. If you can’t forgive people, you’ll never forgive yourself. That is the legacy I live by every day.”
Two Trajectory Changes
Later, Anderson said she was set to enroll at the University of Kentucky when she received a letter from Florida A&M University that began, “Dear Superstar.” She begged her parents to let her visit the school, and they drove 12 hours to Tallahassee for a tour.
“That school gave me confidence. I saw other people who looked just like me: young, gifted and black. We were told we could do anything. That school changed the trajectory of my life.”
Another trajectory came later in life when she enrolled in Harvard Business School a decade after getting her undergraduate degree. “What that program did was help me to learn, reach and strive at a level I had never experienced before. It showed me what potential looked like.”
‘Hasn’t Always Been Great’
Today, Anderson said she stands where she does because of all those experiences.
“It hasn’t always been great,” she said. “Every decision I made got challenged. There were opportunities I really feel should have come my way but they didn’t. But I had learned how to persevere, so now I stand here as the leader of the fourth-largest credit union the country in an industry that so suits my passions around access and inclusion. I believe the financial services industry has not done our best work yet. There are 63 million Americans who are underserved.”
Anderson called on credit unions to focus on the mission of opening access to all, saying it is the reason CUs were created. Moreover, the front-facing employees of CUs have skills unmatched by other providers, she added.
The Real Legacy
“Our economic model gives us the ability to be patient partners with our communities, so we can invest for long-term success,” said Anderson. “We have heart. We are in this room because we care, we actually care about the people we serve. I am asking you to enroll in the mission of figuring out how to scale this work and how to truly deliver financial inclusion for all. And if we do that, that’s our real legacy.”
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