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Who's who: Robert Rose

A longtime resident of California, Co-Op Network President and Chief Executive Robert Rose has never quite left his native Midwest behind. Since Rose joined the Co-Op in 1990, the network has increased its membership nearly tenfold and become the nation's fourth-largest EFT network.

November 7, 2002

What's an Illinois-bred guy who roots for da Bears and da Bulls, enjoys blues and jazz and favors a Lake (Michigan) view doing all the way out on the West Coast?

In the case of Decatur-born Robert Rose, president and chief executive of the California-based Co-Op Network, he's leading the nation's fourth-largest EFT network.

Robert Rose

Rose, who resides in a Los Angeles suburb, first went to the Golden State to study business at Cerritos College in 1961. After his studies were cut short because of limited finances, he returned to his hometown to work for Staley Manufacturing, the area's largest employer and then the largest producer of corn and soybean derivatives.

Cross country career

He held a variety of positions at Staley, ultimately moving to Staley Credit Union, where he said he "first caught the credit union bug" and advanced to the position of assistant manager. (No president or VP titles in those days, but Rose said he was "the number two man.")

From there, the Coast called with a job at the California Credit Union League (CCUL), a trade association. He spent 11 years there, ascending to the position of senior vice president for associate services. He was then recruited for a chief executive slot at the Los Angeles Water & Power Credit Union.

Along the way, he earned a master's degree in executive management at Claremont Graduate School in 1981, after being admitted to a special program and taking night and summer classes to fit around his schedule.

In 1990, he accepted a position at the not-for-profit Co-Op Network. When Rose came on board, the network had fewer than 150 credit union members and 50 million annual transactions. Under his leadership, it has grown to include nearly 1,200 members and 358 million annual transactions.

Acquisition angle

While the growth was organic for the first several years, Rose introduced an aggressive acquisition strategy in 1998, part of a wave which has intensified among all industry sectors in recent years.

Rose said the highly fragmented credit union industry was especially ripe for consolidation. "We had to build our transaction volumes and broaden our client base to be successful and to remain relevant, and I think the same was true for many of the groups we acquired."

He also established a strong focus on the bottom line. "While we have a unique affinity with the credit union industry, our business practices are like many of the other networks. We're cooperative, but also competitive."

With six successful mergers under his belt in as many years, he said the key is making sure both parties are happy. "You want to do what you can to make it a win-win situation."

Rose is committed to broadening the Co-Op Network's reach to the Eastern part of the country, through direct sales efforts as well as possible future acquisitions. Co-Op's newest member, Canada's Civil Service Co-operative Credit Society, is from outside the U.S. borders.

Another important part of his job, Rose said, is promotion. "If you're a CEO, you've got to be an eternal optimist. You're one of the primary PR and sales guys for your company."

Share and share alike

The network, much like its members, must grow its business in non-traditional ways, Rose said. That includes a strategy of sharing both branches and ATMs.

Co-Op recently began offering shared branches after acquiring the Michigan-based Service Centers Corporation earlier this year. In 2000, the Co-Op inked an agreement with Minnesota-based ISO Access Cash, which added some 6,500 ATMs in retail locations to Co-Op's shared ATM program.

From 1998 to 2001, the Co-Op maintained a grant program, under which it helped defray some of its member institutions' expenses of purchasing and deploying ATMs.

"We have to help the industry help itself," Rose said. "We wanted to encourage members to deploy new ATMs, particularly deposit-taking machines. It was our way of putting our money where our mouth was."

Man of the people

Rose's assistant, Kathy Ashby, has known Rose for nearly 30 years  -- dating back to their mutual employment at the CCUL -- and worked for him for the past three. She said that consideration for others is a Rose trademark.

 "I'm always impressed by how much he truly cares about people," Ashby said. "In the time I've worked for him, even while I was trying to learn about the business here, he has never been impatient or unkind."

Rose's Midwestern upbringing shows in his down-to-earth nature, Ashby added. "My first day, I offered to get him coffee, and I think it made him uncomfortable. I've talked to people who have said, 'Oh I don't think I've ever met him,' then when I describe what he looks like, it turns out they were talking to him while he was getting his coffee."

Midwesterner at heart

Frequent travel is part of the job for Rose, yet he still finds time for pleasure trips to Chicago, which he calls "one of the most beautiful cities in the world." Though he doesn't expect to relocate there permanently, he said, "When I retire, I expect I'll spend at least one month out of the year there."

Last year, he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he went on a photography tour in Kenya with wife Mindy. He returned to California with photos of all of the animals known as "the big five" - elephant, rhinoceros, lion, cape buffalo and leopard. In fact, Rose said, he was the first in his group to spot the notoriously camera-shy leopard.

Rose is a wealth of arcane knowledge about Chicago sports teams, with the ability to name the Bulls' starting five all the way back to the 1960s. He can trace the Bears' history all the way back to its 1920 origins as the Decatur (Ill.) Staleys. "A.E. Staley (founder of Staley Manufacturing, Rose's onetime employer) was the one who gave $500 to George Halas to move the team to Chicago and see if he could make it go," Rose said.

He is also an ardent music fan, with a special appreciation for jazz and blues. His love of the blues led to Co-Op's annual sponsorship of the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Ore.

While Rose plays a little piano, sons 15-year-old Evan and 13-year-old Seth are serious musicians. Evan began playing classical piano at age 5 and just had his first gig as the member of a punk rock band, said an obviously proud Rose, who acknowledges -- somewhat ruefully -- that membership in a punk band seems like a particularly California thing to do.