Brian Sloan: Leading CU Build into the Future
- John San Filippo
- Jul 21
- 4 min read
By John San Filippo
CU Build 2025 was held in Nashville July 18-20. Finopotamus was onsite to cover the event and interviewed Brian Sloan, the incoming president of the event. CU Build brings together technical minds from credit unions running the Symitar core processing platform from Jack Henry. It’s described by Sloan as “a hack-a-thon/build-a-thon” that focuses on developing open-source solutions that directly benefit Symitar credit unions and their members.
Sloan, who also serves as the CIO and SVP of Pioneer Appalachian Federal Credit Union, recently took over the presidency from founder Brad Hickey, now president emeritus. His journey to this leadership role began as a committee member, where he was involved from the early days of CU Build.
“When Mike (Blumenthal) and Brad were first kicking around the idea, I was trying to get some traction with something similar,” Sloan recounted. He met Blumenthal, one of CU Build’s founding committee members, in 2008 or 2009 at a SMUG (Symitar Midwest User Group, now SymCentral) conference. The initial spark for CU Build came from a shared desire to bridge a generational knowledge gap in the industry.
Sloan explained, “We’ve got a lot of these older credit union people that are leaving the industry, and all that generational knowledge is leaving with them. I said, we need to get some kind of a technical group or conference going where these older folks can impart some of this knowledge to the younger folks that are just coming on board.”
The Evolution of CU Build
CU Build was always intended to be an in-person event. However, the first one, scheduled for 2020, was forced online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This virtual format proved to be surprisingly successful. Sloan detailed how they adapted: “Unlike our current format where our team of coaches is available as needed, we assigned one coach to work with each team.” To ensure smooth collaboration in the virtual environment, the committee utilized personality tests to prescreen participants. “We did one of those online personality tests for everybody that wanted to participate. Then we matched people up based on how their personalities meshed so we would have a good mix of people.”
Since then, CU Build, he noted, has experienced “great success with the in-person event.” However, CU Build 2025, held in Nashville, saw a slight dip in attendance compared to the previous year. Sloan attributed this to various factors, including vendor staff vacations due to early August school starts and “budgetary cutbacks from a lot of organizations.” He emphasized the unique value proposition of CU Build, stating, “You’re networking with all these other technical people. You’re writing solutions that your credit union can take advantage of. You’re going to bring back all this information that could be a great benefit to the credit union.” He firmly believes credit unions get a “better ROI on sending their people to this event than they probably would sending somebody to a more traditional conference.”
A Strong Partnership with Jack Henry
The Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry, the company behind the Symitar core processing platform, has been a “tremendous partner” for CU Build. “Their support has grown just because they see the benefit of it,” Sloan noted. Jack Henry actively promotes CU Build through various channels, including blog posts, LinkedIn and other social media, and regional user group meetings. Sloan highlighted the increasing involvement from different departments within Jack Henry: “First we had just Symitar people involved. Then we started getting the (Jack Henry digital banking platform) Banno people and (Jack Henry CTO and CDO) Ben Metz’s people. As the excitement grew, we started getting more and more resources from Jack Henry.”
The Future of Financial Technology and CU Build
When it comes to technology and collaboration, Sloan offered a keen insight into the fundamental differences between credit unions and banks. He shared an anecdote from a dinner conversation with Rob Zelinka, the retired CIO at Jack Henry, about the struggles of fostering cooperation among bankers. “They’re so dysfunctional and so competitive that they just sit in a room and don’t talk or they don’t even come at all,” Sloan explained.
He added, “They don’t share; they don’t cooperate. That’s your competitor. You don’t want them knowing what you’re doing and they don’t want you knowing what they’re doing.” This contrasts sharply with the credit union ethos, where collaboration and sharing are central to events like CU Build. He summarized the credit union approach by saying, “Good enough isn’t; it’s never good enough. There’s always room for improvement.”
Looking ahead, Sloan is optimistic about the new Jack Henry platform that’s currently in development, to which his credit union has early access. “It’s sharp. Once they get all the data in there and they get it going, it’s going to be a great tool,” he stated. He particularly appreciates the move to a browser-based system, which “opens it up for me to use Chromebooks, Macs. I can use alternate technology.” Sloan believes this shift “unlocks me from a lot of that legacy hardware that we’re limited to.”
For CU Build’s future, Sloan envisions continued growth and a potential shift in timing to avoid vacation conflicts. “We’re hoping to be able to announce a little bit earlier next year,” he said regarding prizes and event details. Nashville, a first-time host city for the event, is a strong contender for future events due to its accessibility and attractions. “Everybody loves this venue,” Sloan remarked. “You’re literally walking right across the street from the airport into the hotel … you’re pretty much a 10-minute Uber ride from all Nashville has to offer.” This convenience allows attendees to “bring the family and go out and enjoy all the attractions.”
A Surprise Presidency
Sloan’s unexpected rise to the presidency of CU Build came while he was on a trip to Egypt. Before leaving, he told the committee he wasn’t interested in the position. Then while still abroad he got an email letting him know the committee has voted him in. “I was like, when did I say I would run for president? I don’t remember that,” he joked. Despite the surprise, he embraced the role: “I said, well, I guess I won. So, I gotta be the president now. I gotta step up and do it.” His dedication and vision clearly position CU Build for continued success in fostering innovation and collaboration within the Symitar community and beyond.
