Liz Martin

Two decades of leading strategic marketing across industries has taught Liz Martin that growth comes not just from selling more products or services, but from making life easier and more enjoyable for customers.

In her current role as Chief Growth Officer at Oregon State Credit Union, that means focusing on helping members achieve their goals, such as buying a home, starting an emergency fund, building credit, launching a business or planning for retirement.

It’s a principle that guides Martin in both her leadership and growth strategies, ensuring all decisions strengthen trust, deepen relationships and create lasting impact for the members and communities she serves. Her belief in going deeper, not simply broader, drives all her work at Oregon State Credit Union, a member-owned cooperative committed to doing right by members, employees and communities.

“Whether it is a member buying a first home, an employee growing into a new opportunity or a community partner making an impact, those moments remind me why this work matters,” she said. “That is the kind of growth that inspires me—not growth for its own sake, but growth that truly makes a difference in people’s lives.”

For her, sustainable growth comes from creating value for people—helping members feel understood and supported, investing in employees and staying genuinely engaged with the communities the credit union serves.

Putting People at the Center of Growth

Martin leads growth-focused initiatives at Oregon State Credit Union that span member acquisition, brand awareness, product development, member experience, community impact and organizational development. Her cross-industry experience in technology and financial services gives her a broad perspective on building brands, strengthening relationships and creating sustainable growth in a changing financial services landscape.

Her technology background taught her to think about the entire customer experience and journey instead of focusing only on the point of acquisition.

Metrics, processes and efficiency are important to Martin, and she views them as tools in the service of people. For her, people-first thinking and business performance are not competing priorities.

Martin believes that the most effective organizations bring data and creativity together. Data helps recognize patterns and measure progress, while engaging with members reveals what matters most to them. Brand, communication and storytelling bring those insights to life, showing members what is possible and how the organization is uniquely positioned to help them achieve their goals.

“It is easy in marketing to focus on the campaign, the conversion or the account opening,” she said. “But the more important question is: Did we create an experience that made someone feel understood, supported and confident about choosing us? That is what ensures they will stay with us.”

Creating a Better Member Experience

Martin brought this member-centered approach to an organizationwide effort to transform the credit union’s digital banking, a significant investment designed to create a more modern, intuitive experience. While the technology was important, the team’s larger goal was reducing friction in all everyday interactions and opening up new opportunities for members.

It wasn’t just a technology challenge. Operations, marketing and frontline teams also contribute to the member experience.

They started with a simple question: Where are members having to work harder than they should? Whether accessing information, moving money, opening accounts or managing their financial lives, every unnecessary step creates friction. Their goal was to simplify those experiences while maintaining the security and trust their members expect.

“ People may not remember every rate or every transaction, but they remember how they were treated. “

They also recognized that members want flexibility in how and when they engage with financial services. Digital capabilities help meet them where they are, while preserving access to the personalized service and human connection remains core to the credit union’s value proposition.

The project required alignment and listening to feedback across the organization to help them identify pain points, challenge assumptions and refine the experience, she said.

“Ultimately, the initiative reinforced a simple belief: When you remove unnecessary complexity and make it easier for people to achieve their goals, growth becomes a natural outcome of a better experience,” she said.

Making Community Investment a Lasting Impact

Martin’s people-first philosophy extends beyond members and employees to the communities Oregon State Credit Union serves.

One of the factors that attracted her to the organization was its long-standing commitment to its neighbors. She saw an opportunity to deepen that work by moving beyond simply contributing to causes toward building active, long-term partnerships focused on lasting community outcomes.

The urge to create real impact led to an emphasis on volunteering, serving on a nonprofit board and amplifying nonprofit missions. Martin has served on the Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest board for six years and has seen firsthand the impact sustained involvement can have on young lives. In addition, OSCU’s Day of Service in 2025 brought together 308 employees to support 25 nonprofit organizations across the credit union’s communities.

These efforts reflect her belief that community investment is not separate from member value. Members live, work, raise families, attend school, operate businesses and volunteer in these communities. When local nonprofits are stronger, small businesses have support and families have more opportunities, and the entire membership benefits.

Competing Through Relevance, Relationships and Trust

These personal member relationships and trust define the credit union advantage, she said. Martin believes community-focused credit unions shouldn’t try to compete with national banks on scale. Large banks may have more branches and larger marketing budgets, but they cannot necessarily replicate the understanding that comes from being deeply connected to a community.

“ Members do not wake up thinking about financial products, but they know the goals they want to achieve and the challenges they are trying to overcome. “

No two members are exactly alike, and neither are financial situations. The credit union’s role is to understand those differences and help members navigate their financial journeys.

She also cautions against assuming an organization needs to lead every category. Long-term success is not necessarily about having the best rate, product or offer in every area. It is about understanding where an organization creates unique value and delivering on it consistently.

“Our employees strive to create meaningful experiences that people remember,” she said. “People may not remember every rate or every transaction, but they remember how they were treated. That is a core value that is very different from a big bank’s approach.”

Building the Next Generation of Growth Leadership

For Martin, organizational growth comes from consistently creating value for members across all channels, with every employee aligned around member success. Teams need to understand the desired outcome from the beginning, whether an initiative is focused on growth, member experience, community impact or operational excellence.

Successful collaboration also requires both broad engagement and clear accountability. Everyone should have a voice, but ownership must remain well defined. More importantly, Martin understands that employees need a shared connection to the organization’s mission and cooperative purpose of keeping members at the center of every interaction.

“Technology changes quickly, and member expectations keep rising,” she said. “We need team members who stay curious, keep learning and adapt as expectations change.”

Her advice to emerging leaders is to stay close to the people being served. Members do not wake up thinking about financial products, but they know the goals they want to achieve and the challenges they are trying to overcome.

She also advises leaders to invest in people as intentionally as they invest in strategy. When employees find purpose in their work, they bring better ideas, more energy and care to the people they serve.

“Growth is never created by one person or one department alone,” she said. “It takes strong teams, shared purpose and a culture where people understand why their work matters.”