As Michael T. Pugh, formerly president and CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank, takes the helm of LISC, we caught up with him to talk about what inspired him to step into his new role, what motivates him as a leader and community development practitioner, and what he hopes to help LISC accomplish in the years to come.
You’ve had a very accomplished career in banking. What inspired you to want to join LISC now?
As I look back on my 30-plus year career, I’ve felt the greatest level of achievement and pride working on things like access to capital for entrepreneurs and other programs that helped improve health and wellness and quality of life for everyday Americans. After having been a banker and developing the technical knowledge to create those sorts of initiatives, the chance to be a part of a team that shares that same passion and commitment to that mission and work feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I'm especially excited to continue that kind of work at a national level, but also to have the chance to interact with communities at a hyper-local level. I’m looking forward to working with leaders in local markets who are driving initiatives to help communities grow and thrive, and to see the cumulative effect of those positive impacts for our country.
What are a few of the areas that you're most eager to work on now that you're CEO of LISC.
One is certainly economic development and small business support. Entrepreneurs are really the economic engine that drives our nation's GDP; we have to continue to nurture innovation in order to remain a positive influence globally. I've felt the greatest sense of reward in seeing businesses that have grown, going from 20 people to 200 people, and doing that through public and private partnerships that help entrepreneurs get the technical resources, tools, and access to capital they needed.
But there’s so much more. Affordable housing, and access to housing in general, is key. But it’s not just about providing the debt or equity financing to construct buildings. It's also pulling the community in and ensuring that the resources are available to create safe and healthy neighborhoods.
Those resources run the gamut. They include access to food, to banking, to education, to jobs, to healthcare. My experience as a banker has taught me that when you're creating housing and building out a place to be a comfortable domain for a community, you also have to think about sustainability. And that sustainability is achieved through all the LISC programs that support the foundations of a healthy community, and through creating the partnerships to ensure that those foundations are in place.
How do you see your background in retail banking informing your vision for how that work moves forward at LISC and for community development in general?
The thing I appreciate most about the foundation of having started in retail banking is that it’s the intersection for almost everything that happens in banking.
For example, before the digital boom really transformed the financial services sector, consumers relied on brick-and-mortar experiences—going into a location, having a conversation with someone, asking questions—whether about financing for home ownership or getting a loan to help support or start a business.
You learn so much about the needs of communities and financing structures that way, and I think that's what retail prepared me for: understanding communities at a local level and learning the structures to provide solutions for those communities. I’m excited to be part of bringing that local work to scale, as LISC is doing, on a national level, in communities across the country.
What do you hope to accomplish for yourself personally in your first 100 days on the job?
My goal for those first 100 days is to really understand the talent at LISC. As I mentioned, I want to get out and hear from our teams about the things they want to see us build on as we do our strategic planning going forward.
The second part is connection with the community—visiting our markets and asking local leaders to bring me up to speed about the communities they're serving, and how I might be able to support their initiatives.
A third goal is building out the strategic plan, focusing on the areas we want to execute over the next months and years, and ensuring that there's alignment across the company with the tools, the resources, the talent and the commitment to achieve those strategic initiatives.
And just as important is getting to know and collaborating with funders, who play such a critical role in our ability to make any and all of those things happen.
What do you consider to be the most important things to learn about LISC to achieve your objectives as CEO?
I think it’s really about listening and getting to know the people who work here. What's their motivation for getting up every day? What do they cherish and why did they choose LISC?
I understand that, as CEO, this is a delicate line, and I don't want to overstep boundaries with anyone's personal life. But if you can better understand what motivates and inspires your team and how it impacts them as people with lives outside of work, then it affords you a chance to support their goals and do that in a way that honors and respects each individual. At this stage of my life, I’m ever more aware of the importance of that recognition, and how it starts with leadership.
Speaking of life outside of work, how do you manage work-life balance, if you do?
When you love and are really passionate about something, when you believe it's part of your purpose, balance is all relative. I guess the answer to this question is that it's an area I'm looking to explore more. But I believe the work I'm doing aligns with my purpose and that, for me, creates balance.