“Don’t lose that zeal and passion, but don’t trade on the cheapest human emotions—fear and contempt.” – Scott Simpson
Welcome to episode 227 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight, and Jilly Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.
This episode is sponsored by Alacriti, a leading payments fintech helping credit unions modernize money movement. Alacriti enables real-time money movement experiences for loan payments, A2A transfers, digital disbursements, and bill pay. Through a single cloud-native platform that connects to RTP, FedNow, Fedwire, ACH, Visa Direct, and Zelle, credit unions can progressively modernize without overhauling legacy systems. Learn more at alacriti.com!
In this new 2026 season, Jilly and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.
For this episode, we are joined by Scott Simpson, President/CEO of America’s Credit Unions. Listen in this episode as we step away from job titles and LinkedIn headlines to talk about the moments that shape a career—the quiet hinge points, the unexpected invitations, and the decisions that feel terrifying in real time but obvious in hindsight. We talk with Scott about the “green light” moments that changed everything: being pulled into politics by a friend, stepping into the middle of a high-stakes bank–credit union fight, and then finally receiving one of the most surprising career taps imaginable—being told to apply for a CEO role he never expected to be offered! What followed wasn’t just a promotion but a defining lesson in humility, courage, and emotional discipline.
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation with Scott is the story that he shares about the leader he unintentionally jumped over and the grace that man showed in response. That choice, Scott tells us, didn’t just transform a working relationship; it reshaped his entire career, and we reflect on what it means to name the elephant in the room, ask “Are we okay?” after hard decisions, and lead from empathy rather than ego.
Scott also opens up about balancing youthful confidence with seasoned wisdom, resisting the pull toward fear or contempt, and learning to keep “motoring” even when the road ahead feels unclear. From Utah to California to Washington, D.C., his journey shows how small rooms and overlooked moments can ripple across an entire industry, so, for anyone feeling impatient, stuck, or hungry for what’s next, this episode offers something more meaningful than a career checklist. It’s a reminder that growth doesn’t come from chasing status but rather from executing where you stand, lifting your part of the piano, and trusting that the road will bend when it’s time! Enjoy our conversation with Scott Simpson!
Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.
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Connect with James:
Scott Simpson, President/CEO of America’s Credit Unions
americascreditunions.org
Scott: Lin
