Lisa Florian, the CEO of Clearview Federal Credit Union, said the secret to her career longevity is curiosity and an eagerness to learn.
“When I was young, my friends used to tell me that I was a nerd because I was always asking questions. And I continue to ask questions and don’t pretend to know things that I don’t,” Florian said.
In college, Florian took a few accounting classes and discovered she had an affinity for finance. She was weighing internship offers with Deloitte and a couple of other companies, including National City Bank in Cleveland. She chose National City because she thought banking was “more interesting” than accounting.
Upon graduation, Florian joined National City full time and entered its retail management development program. “It was an extension of my learning and allowed me to be exposed to every facet on the retail side of banking. I found it really cool to be able to learn all these things. And that’s kind of how I dipped my toe in the water and ended up on this path,” she recalled.
During her three-year stint at the bank, Florian attended Robert Morris University to earn an MBA. During that period, one of her colleagues had left National City to work for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association and urged Florian to join him. “He told me that they were looking for an accountant and would I consider being a sales representative for credit unions,” she said.
Florian joined the credit union association as an account executive in January 2001 and, over the next six years, rose to the rank of vice president of business development. She credits her ascent to the training she received at National City.
“As part of that retail management development program, I was exposed to not just being a teller or a person opening accounts, I was also exposed to lending and the business of lending and trying to bring in business. The business development aspect came into play when I worked for the association. That’s when I learned to sell and build relationships with the various credit unions,” she said.
Florian went back to her banking roots in October 2006 when she joined Pittsburgh-based Riverset Credit Union as the director of operations and communications. She spent nine years there and took on a wide range of responsibilities.
“I was involved in nearly every aspect of the business, from business development, data analysis, and research to marketing strategy and member engagement. Whether it was understanding membership trends, analyzing marketing performance, or evaluating web traffic, I took a hands-on approach across multiple disciplines,” she said.
One of the advantages of working at a smaller institution is being able to wear different hats, leading to understanding how key business units function, she said. “That adaptability and cross-functional knowledge have been critical throughout my career, providing a strong foundation in strategic thinking, operational efficiency, and a data-driven approach to decision-making,” Florian said.
In August 2015, Florian joined Clearview Federal Credit Union as an assistant vice president of strategic research and analysis. Over the ensuing seven and a half years, she held roles in finance, marketing and digital strategy, On April 1, 2023, she became the CEO of the Moon Township, Pennsylvania-based Clearview.
One of the first tasks Florian undertook at Clearview was to reorganize the executive team, adding a layer of “chief officers,” each leading a specific line of business within the credit union.
She also undertook a rebrand of Clearview, which hadn’t been done for 20 years. “I wanted to reposition ourselves and kind of say to the market, ‘Take a look at us; we’re here to help empower you and make your lives better,'” she said.
Florian oversaw a merger between Clearview and Parkview Community Federal Credit Union last July, resulting in Clearview now having a little more than $2 billion in assets. She is also working on a merger with $100 million-asset size Beaver Valley Federal Credit Union. That merger is expected to close in June or July.
Changes to the industry
The biggest change Florian has seen over the last 25 years has been in technology. “When I started, we were kind of like a factory. You would come in, have a transaction to do and come up to my teller window. If I was performing your transaction in an efficient and effective manner, and you walked out with the right amount of money, I was doing my job right,” she said.
Today, this work is done by virtual tellers, reducing the need for humans to do simple transactions and allowing them to focus on more complex work such as detecting fraud. “We still have people in our financial centers to consult with and give advice. And they have to be on the lookout for sketchy behavior. Is there some kind of romance scam going on? Did someone tell them to come in to open this account so that they can automatically take their money out?” she said.
For employees who are concerned that AI will take their jobs, Florian said that is not going to happen. “We see it just as a way to take the crappiest stuff out of your job that doesn’t require a lot of your brain cells, and open them up to more meaningful work,” she said. “The last time I checked, we have no shortage of things to do around here.”
Florian said technology is a double-edged sword. While it has freed up employees time to do more meaningful work, it has also made it easier for people to be targeted by bad actors. “Innovation is a great thing, but I’m now focused on cyber security and fraud prevention and data privacy. And we try to help educate our members about potential scams and how to protect themselves,” she added.
What makes an impactful leader
Florian said one of her most important tools as a leader is to listen to what others have to say. “When I have to make decisions, I want to hear other people’s opinions,” she said. “I don’t dictate.”
One of her longtime employees told Florian that vulnerability is one of her superpowers. “You need to be transparent with folks, they will decide if that’s the path they want to take with you or not,” she said. “I think that’s extremely important.”
She also encourages employees to use their voices and feel empowered to speak up. “I don’t want people to come and tell me what I want to hear. I want folks to be able to make mistakes like I have made and try their best.”
It’s important for leaders to be kind and considerate, Florian added: “Just be human and be a good human. You can be a good human as a leader.”