ALEXANDRIA, Va.–A man who’s been the successful CEO of two credit unions but whom many CUs likely wouldn’t have ever hired in the first place, says he’s a living example of why diversity and inclusion can really pay off.
Ronaldo Hardy, known to many in credit unions as a frequent speaker while he was leading two credit unions, is now chief diversity and inclusion officer with CU Strategic Planning. He told NCUA’s first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Summit he doesn’t believe he’s overstating it when he calls financial inclusion the civil rights fight of the current era.
“There are a number of different reasons to be working on this as a movement,” Hardy said. “Whether you like to recognize it or not, we are in a modern day civil rights movement. I don’t know what name history will give this time, but what we’re hearing from different groups elevating their voices is very reminiscent of the civil rights movement. In the civil rights movement money was withheld whenever an organization was not performing. It’s the very same thing happening today.”
For credit unions, suggested Hardy, DEI is also a “moral issue” for a movement that talks about people helping people. “We should be doing this for all aspects of the community so we create the financial inclusion and equity we all believe in.”
A Personal Story
Hardy shared with his audience why for him the issue of inclusion is so “personal,” noting in 2004 he was a 20-year-old whose resume by chance was put in front of an HR manager at a credit union, even though he never applied for the job. Instead, someone else had applied for him.
“Twenty-year-old Ronaldo had been a product of growing up in poverty. He did not have all the information he needed to make wise decisions,” said Hardy. “Twenty-year-old Ronaldo had a credit score in the 500s. Ultimately I got hired because of my honesty. But there were not a lot of people who looked like me.”
Hardy would remain with that credit union for seven years and in multiple roles, at one point becoming responsible for making loan decisions representing 40% of the CU’s loan volume. At 27, without having finished his undergraduate degree, he said he had the “guts” to apply for the CEO’s job. He got it (and also got the undergraduate degree plus a graduate degree).
He would eventually move on to helm a larger credit union before moving to CU Strategic Planning.
Need to Be Seen and Heard
“When I think about your membership, I think about the people who look like me, who are like me, or who are female or LGBQT,” said Hardy. “All I know is there are people in your organization who can move the needle for your organization and maybe for our industry as a whole. But they need to be seen and heard.”