PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas—Elenora Zgonjanin Petrovic recalls being the first woman CEO of a financial institution in Macedonia and the first person to run a credit union—starting the CU movement in her country from “zero.”
She said 20 years ago she faced serious doubt from professors at universities who questioned whether a new concept for banking—credit unions—could work in Macedonia, when at that time many of the country’s citizens had little trust in banks. (Since that time, the country has split into two, and Petrovic now leads credit unions in what is now North Macedonia.)
Speaking at the World Council Young Credit Union Professionals (WYCUP) Forum ahead of the World Council of Credit Unions’ World Credit Union Conference, she told a room packed with young professionals from around the globe that what it takes for credit unions to move forward in areas in which establishing and running a financial cooperative is challenging is not giving into fear of the unknown.
‘It Takes Bravery’
“It takes bravery,” she said. “In Macedonia in 1990, the World Council invested in our movement in my country. It was at a time in which there was so much corruption in the financial services industry—embezzling, Ponzi schemes…It was a very difficult time for anyone in my country to believe in the financial services system.”
Petrovic said it took a very strong decision for her to move forward and run “something that did not exist in my country before.”
“I was 29, and half of my professors from local universities advised me not to risk my career. ‘What is this crazy woman doing?’ they said. So, the first rule I set for myself, and you need to do for yourself,” she advised attendees, “is be ready to take risks. And here we are today.”
One CU For Entire Country
Where the movement in North Macedonia is today: one credit union—FULM Savings House—that serves the entire country with eight branches, 15,000 members and $6 million in assets. The average loan is $1,000 and average savings account is $300.
“I am proud to be here now and celebrate 20 years of operating,” said Petrovic.
She emphasized to the young professionals in the room they are the future of the CU movement worldwide.
“And in many cases you are leading the credit union movement today. If we don’t have strong, talented young professionals involved with credit unions globally, we have no credit union movement for the future,” she said.
‘The New Standard is Change’
Petrovic encouraged attendees to get very comfortable with change and that while establishing strategic plans is important, what’s critical is being ready to diverge from those roadmaps.
“The new standard is change,” she said. “My rule is you set a goal and then be ready to find ways around your tactics and plans. You still want to reach that goal, but because so much is changing in financial services today, it often requires you be ready to make changes at any moment in time. We are simply living in a time of great change.”
Brandi Stankovic, chair of the WYCUP Steering Committee and chief strategy officer with Michigan-based CU Solutions Group, told CUtoday.info that WYCUP is delivering strong young leaders to CUs around the world.
“We are having a direct impact on the global credit union movement,” she said. Sixty-three percent of attendees at WYCUP meetings over the last five years have received promotions. Through educational forums, immersion programs, cooperation and WYCUP affiliates, young professionals are advancing around the world. Our program has nearly 20 years of connecting and empowering young professionals in credit unions. Our mission is to transform the future of the credit union industry and establish lifelong WOCCU champions.”