CUInsight | The CUInsight Network podcast: Know your members – Abrigo

“If you understand your members, you'll know what products and services to offer.” - Rob Newberry

Thank you for tuning in to The CUInsight Network, with your host, Robbie Young, Vice President of Strategic Growth at CUInsight. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest on today’s show is Rob Newberry, Senior Consultant at Abrigo. Rob’s story begins about as far from finance as you can get—on a dairy farm in rural Iowa. His perspective was shaped not by what he wanted to become, but by what he knew he didn’t, and that path eventually led him from an entry-level role in the mortgage industry, to a VP position at Wells Fargo, and later to building a company of his own focused on supporting credit unions and community banks!

In our conversation, Rob calls attention to something that feels increasingly rare in financial services: genuine human connection. He deconstructs why relationship lending still matters and why the best lenders aren’t the ones chasing the lowest rate but rather the ones who truly understand their members. His “Know Your Members” mindset is a practical way to think about risk, retention, and long-term value. We also get into the conflict that can come up between efficiency and authenticity. With AI reshaping workflows on the daily—from loan write-ups to risk analysis—Rob offers a fresh but grounded take on what technology can and can’t do.

As we wrap up the episode, Rob shares his thoughts on effective leadership, where in the world he would like to travel, and his love for live music. Enjoy my conversation with Rob Newberry!