Tech People in the Know: Teachers FCU’s Suresh Renganathan

In what is a recurring feature, Finopotamus will profile interesting and intriguing tech professionals who are positively impacting the credit union industry.

For this issue, we visited with Teachers Federal Credit Union’s CTO Suresh Renganathan.

By W.B. King

When Suresh Renganathan began his tech journey in 1987, it was an “exhilarating and transformative” time in the industry. “Personal computers were moving away from being purely business tools and making their way into homes,” he told Finopotamus. “I dove into this world at a time when floppy disks were the key to transferring and storing data, DOS, a command-line system, dominated computing, and IBM was the dominant player in personal computing.”

Noting that these advancements and developments were intriguing, the evolution of the Apple Macintosh really caught his attention. “It showed that computers didn’t have to be these intimidating, mysterious boxes — they could actually be user-friendly and fun,” he shared.

Suresh Renganathan

While the internet was just starting to take shape, he said there was “no hint of the vast digital universe” it would become. “Programming languages like C were the foundation for many web developers, while the first graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were challenging the reign of text-based screens,” he said. “It was the early days of something big, and I could feel it. I wasn’t just witnessing the tech evolution — I was part of it, helping bridge technology with real-world applications.”

Prior to joining Teachers Federal Credit Union as its CTO in 2020, Renganathan served as a senior consultant at Compuware, director of technologies at American Express and head of digital engineering at Famers Insurance Group of Companies.

The $9.7 billion Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Teachers FCU supports more than 460,000 members and 33 full-service branches across all 50 states.

Shaping the Future of Organizations

In the early days of his tech career, IT departments were primarily viewed as back-office support teams that were focused on keeping systems operational, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring no one lost their work after a computer crash. The latter, he noted, happened far too often. Technology, he added, was considered a necessity rather than a strategic asset.

“Today, the landscape has shifted dramatically. IT is no longer just a support function; it is a driving force for innovation and business strategy. Agile methodologies, cloud computing, AI (artificial intelligence)-driven automation, and seamless digital experiences are now at the forefront,” he shared. “Technology leaders no longer operate in silos; they are integral to decision-making, shaping the future of organizations.”

As Renganathan views it, the evolution from IT as a reactive function to a proactive innovator of progress is nothing short of amazing. He offered digital banking as an example. “In the past, IT teams worked independently, only engaging with other departments when issues arose,” he continued. “Today, cross-functional collaboration between IT, marketing, and operations is essential to creating intuitive, user-friendly experiences.”

Power of Mentorship

When Finopotamus asked Renganathan about mentors throughout his career, his first response was his father, “Mr. Renganathan,” who served as general manager at Madras District Central Cooperative Bank. “He instilled in me the importance of leadership, integrity, and a strategic mindset. He didn’t just teach me about work — he taught me how to think critically and make decisions that drive real impact.”

Renganathan also noted a good friend, Natarajan Subramanian, founder and CEO of Vaken Technologies in Japan. “His insights into problem-solving and innovation helped me understand that technology isn’t just about chasing trends — it’s about creating meaningful solutions that address real business and customer challenges,” he shared.

Building off these experiences, Renganathan looks to guide others. “I make it a priority to mentor young professionals, champion continuous learning, and advocate for diversity in tech leadership,” he noted. “After all, the best way to honor great mentors is to become one yourself.”

Drastically Improving Efficiency

Recent tech accomplishments at Teachers FCU include transforming its legacy call center into a modern, omnichannel contact center. This employee-driven, cross-functional initiative reduced call wait times by 42%, decreased average handle time by 12%, and increased the credit union’s Net Promoter Score by 2.3 points, Renganathan explained.

Another recent highlight centers on the deployment of an AI-powered smart decisioning platform, which “revolutionized” the lending process. “By leveraging machine learning (ML), we achieved instant lending decisions and auto-decisioned over 80% of applications, drastically improving efficiency, while enhancing the member experience,” he continued. “This not only increased engagement but also boosted loan acceptance rates, ensuring members get faster access to the financial solutions they need.”

Along with AI and ML, Renganathan said key tech trends include open banking and application program interfaces (APIs), embedded banking and banking as a service (BaaS), cloud and core modernization, and instant payment and digital currencies.

The Year of the Credit Union

Given the depth and breadth of his career, when Finopotamus asked what differentiates credit unions from other financial institutions, he responded: “People over profits, cooperative innovation, secure and modern payments, human-centric technology, and fintech partnerships."

Regarding the latter, he said that in today’s digital-first world, partnering with fintechs enables credit unions to innovate quickly without the need to build every solution in-house.

“Fintechs bring cutting-edge technology, such as AI, mobile banking, and automation, while credit unions offer trust, compliance expertise, and a loyal member base — a win-win for both," he shared. Examples of partnerships wins include an AI-driven lending model, an enhanced digital banking platform, and fraud and prevention upgrades.

“These strategic partnerships [with fintechs] enable credit unions to compete with larger financial institutions staying competitive, innovative, and focused on the needs of members,” he said. “As fintech collaborations grow, 2025 is shaping up to be ‘the year of the credit union.’”