The latest from John Pembroke

Jun 30, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

How to develop leaders from all levels

The editors of Credit Union Management are planning an article about the unusual paths people take to becoming CEO. Some started as tellers and have worked every job at the ...

Jun 2, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

The best online learning gets personal

Last month, a group of people got together to learn. The presenter shared her expertise about the topic. The participants broke out into small groups to tackle learning exercises. The ...

May 4, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

Are you leading a credit union transformation?

My job as the CEO of CUES has an important goal in common with the jobs of many of our members: Transforming an organization rich in history and prestige into ...

Apr 4, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

Help for leaders in dealing with today’s top challenges

In a recent informal CUES survey, we asked our audience of credit union leaders, “What keeps you up at night?” More than half—56 percent—said cyber security. And almost ...

Mar 6, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

Leaders need a bird’s-eye view of business details

A while back, a discussion I had with CUES’ Board of Directors led me to take a new look at CUES’ work to promote the professional development of credit union ...

Feb 7, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

5 questions to discern how you’ll best learn

When I worked at Procter & Gamble, we thought a lot about making sure we could meet the needs of all our potential customers in a particular product category. For example, ...

Jan 17, 2017 - by John Pembroke, CUES

Will it blend? Finally, a worthy merger of ‘online’ and ‘leadership learning’

Blendtec’s spokesperson has tried blending everything from fruit to iPhones in the company’s highly successful “Will It Blend?” video campaign for its tough blenders. The segments that test ...

Dec 21, 2016 - by John Pembroke, CUES

2017 payments resolutions: ‘Read, heed and manage the speed’

Payments, payments everywhere and new questions at every turn. Many credit unions fear fintech disruption, but aren’t sure how to set their payments strategy to best position them in ...

John Pembroke

CUES

Web: www.cues.org

As president/CEO of CUES, John Pembroke came full circle in his career. His first exposure to business was a high school internship working in his father’s church credit union. He developed a deep connection to the impact credit unions make on their members’ lives. That experience and being raised by parents with advanced degrees taught him to value education, faith, relationships, and personal growth.

These values, combined with a progressive mindset, a desire to innovate, and an entrepreneurial spirit, were central to John’s success, allowing him to build a unique brand. Known for driving organizational growth and profitability, he leveraged his diverse business skills, relationship-building expertise, and leadership ability at PSCU, Cox Enterprises, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, and Procter & Gamble.

Under John’s leadership, CUES membership tripled, member loyalty increased, new and innovative talent development offerings were developed and launched, and the financial condition of the organization was improved. Also, CUES came to be viewed as an industry thought leader in talent development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In addition, he worked with his board to evolve its governance efforts and make DEI a priority throughout the entire organization.

One of John’s favorite quotes is by Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “Change is the only constant in life.” He lived by this maxim, consistently embracing opportunities to improve himself, his life, and the lives of others. For more than 25 years, he led companies with the same enthusiasm and was a trailblazer in the financial services, technology, consumer products, media, and non-profit industries.

John held a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Policy Studies from the Booth School of Business of the University of Chicago.

Whether watching sports, traveling, spending time with friends and family or enjoying listening to new music—which was something he did every Friday—John considered having fun vital to a full life. He will be missed.