LISA COCHRAN
Chief Information Officer at VyStar Credit Union
Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself
Currently based in Jacksonville, FL as the Chief Information Officer of VyStar Credit Union. VyStar is the 14th largest credit union in the United States, serving over 800,000 members with over $12 billion in assets.
What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?
I fell in love with computers from a very young age. By the time I was in middle school/junior high I had decided I wanted to be a computer scientist. Every year at Christmas time I would beg my parents for a Commodore 64 or a computer, but they didn’t have the resources to buy one for me, so I stayed after school every night and would program the Apple IIE computers because I thought it was so fun. I had always loved math. I was good at geometry proofs and programming a computer felt similar. I was always good at visualizing the end product and how technology could solve problems. In college, I used to create DOS programs to automate work in the accounting department of the university I attended. After college, one of my first jobs was working at Lockheed Martin on a military program on US Naval ships. After a few years I moved over into Financial Services and worked at a credit card company called MBNA. I learned the valuable lesson to be customer-focused in that job.
Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?
When I was a programmer, I don’t know that I envisioned or had a goal to become a CIO someday. I’ve always been ambitious, but it has typically been thinking about one or two levels ahead of where I was to get where I wanted to go. I will say that the one thing I’ve always tried to do when making tough decisions is make it from the CEO’s perspective. Even when I was a lower-level manager, I found that if I thought about things from that perspective, I could make less biased or self-serving decisions and even if it impacted me in the short term, it always paid off in the long term.
Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?
I’ve had several role models and mentors who have helped me on my career journey. I’m grateful for all the leaders I’ve worked for, especially those early in my career who believed in me and saw something in me that I might not have seen in myself if they didn’t plant that notion in me that I could go on and do great things.
How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?
The role of a technology leader is evolving to have several core critical skills. First of all, a good technology leader needs to be able to master solving puzzles. Understanding the technology needs of an organization and then fitting together a stack of technology that meets those needs is critical. Second, a good technology leader needs to be able to simplify and optimize those technology stacks so that the technology is easily understood and supported. Lastly, a great technology leader needs to be a business leader and have an in-depth understanding of the business. It’s the responsibility of the technology leader to understand the business and then apply a technology lense to the solution to think creatively to automate and simplify the business needs and remove friction for customers or members.
What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?
I strongly believe the most important skill that everyone needs is the ability to adapt to change and have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset.
How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?
I ask a lot of questions. People are generally willing and happy to share aspects of what they do, and so I’m curious and ask a lot of questions. I also try to surround myself with diverse people who are different than myself. Whether that is the traditional aspects that one thinks about diversity or its diversity of experiences, I find that opens the opportunity to learn new things. I also work on nurturing my network and can rely on people I’ve met to help get perspectives that are different than mine. If you are open, I find that people are willing and supportive to share ideas and information. I’ve also taken courses to help with my personal development on massive open online course content, especially in areas like disruptive leadership and positive psychology.
What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?
Cryptocurrency and the fintech disruptions will continue to impact the financial services sector.
"One of the most important skills you can have as a technology leader is to be forward compatible, curious and a continuous learner."
If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?
One of the most important skills you can have as a technology leader is to be forward-compatible, curious and a continuous learner. Yesterday’s new technology is today’s outdated antiquated technology, so curiosity and being a continuous learner is one of the most critical skills that is needed for leadership and particularly leadership in the technology discipline. In addition, listening and creating a culture where people can reasonably speak their minds is critical for success and to build trust with your team. Lastly, providing clear and constructive feedback is also important. If you want to create a team of leaders who continuously improve, you have to be receptive to feedback to continuously improve yourself, as well as provide regular and timely feedback to others to help them grow and develop.
Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?
I love what I am doing now, and the bigger purpose of the credit union movement. For the first time, I’m quite content with my role and there is still quite a lot of work to do here. However, I’m at an inflection in my career where it’s also important to me that I create opportunities for others. I firmly believe that to whom much is given, much is expected, and I feel like there is a lot more I can do to help create diversity and inclusion in technology, help others live up to their full potential and transform technology in a way that simplifies hard things.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
If I could wave a magic wand, I would wish for less divisiveness, less judgement and more curiosity in the world. I find the people around me fascinating and even if you have differences, by pausing and being curious about each other, I find you can discover more harmony and less friction and hard conversations become easier.
A big thank you to Lisa Cochran from VyStar Credit Union for sharing her journey to date.
If you would like to gain more perspective from Tech Leaders and CIOs you can read some of our other interviews here.
