In what is a recurring feature, Finopotamus spotlights innovative women who are positively impacting technology applications in the credit union industry, and beyond. For this issue, we visited with Gemineye Brand and Design Consultant Alicia Disantis.
By W.B. King
Self-described as a “fine arts kid,” Alicia Disantis pursued a degree in graphic design from the University of Toledo with no aspirations for a career in the banking technology space.
“I never imagined I would work in tech,” Disantis told Finopotamus. “But careers take on a life of their own, twisting and traversing in wild ways.” While studying for her master’s in media management, with a concentration in brand management, at Columbia College Chicago, her career trajectory indeed took a turn. “I had several tech-leaning internships that sparked an interest in technology, like a character artist for a mobile gaming app,” she added.
By 2012, after starting her own firm, 38th & Kip Studio, she accepted a position working as a marketing and design manager at the CUSO, CU Service Network—kicking her tech career into gear.
“Traditionally a CO-OP Shared Branching provider, the company was rapidly expanding into new financial technologies, like online banking, mobile banking, P2P (person-to-person)–even SSI (self-sovereign identity) and blockchain,” she shared. “I was tasked with marketing these new fintech products to credit unions in a time of great philosophical change, such as: Is a branch even necessary?”
When CU Service Network was acquired by the Lakewood, Colo.-based Aux in 2020, Disantis stayed on serving as its head of creative and brand. Two years later, she became the brand manager and acting creative director for the Atlanta-based Popmenu, which focused on restaurant-based software-as-a-service solutions.
“When I first started in marketing and design there was an unbelievable amount of fear and hesitation from financial institutions with new technologies. It’s hard to even imagine that a decade ago, we had such pushback on something so convenient as mobile banking,” she reflected.
“CUSOs and vendors were scrambling to secure a safe spot as a provider of the ‘best technology.’ Partnerships dissolved as quickly as the contract was signed, she said, adding that technologies were being rolled out before they were “properly tested,” just to be first to market. “I likened it to a wild-west mentality,” she continued. “I’d be working like a mad woman to create collateral or a brand for a product that needed to be launched immediately—before someone else did it.”
A Sense of Comradery
In 2023, Disantis joined the Gemineye team, serving as a brand and design consultant. The company has seven tech-facing staff members. Formerly The Knowlton Group, the Sandwich, Mass.-based fintech offers a customizable data and analytics solution platform to “dozens” of banks and seven credit unions. She said the company’s ethos is far different than the noted antiquated approaches.
“Working for Gemineye, there is a mindset of assuredness and stability. There is a mindset of education first, sell later. Educational material and content marketing has proven itself to be a powerful marketing strategy,” she offered. “Post-pandemic, folks aren’t going to buy what they don’t understand. And folks aren’t going to buy from people they don’t like.”
Among other changes in the market is the number of women she sees working in fintech and banking. She recalled many times when she was the only woman in the room or on a call.
“Now there is a sense of comradery when I see another woman representing in the space,” she said. “I see more and more women working in tech every day, and I love it.”
While she is not a coder, she pointed to the “Women Who Code” movement as another example of inspiration. “Several months ago, I interviewed Ann Ditlow, data analyst at 4Front Federal Credit Union,” she said. “I had mad respect for her working in a male-dominated industry and hustling hard, especially as a brand-new mom.”
There has been such a societal shift over the last 10-plus years that Disantis no longer feels isolated if she is the only woman on a business call, but that doesn’t mean the struggle for equality is over.
“Gender doesn’t seem to be noticed; It’s more about your skills and attitude. We can’t forget though that women still only make 80 cents on the dollar that men do in the United States,” she said. “We have a long way to go.”
Treated People with Respect
When Finopotamus asked who has served a mentor, Disantis pointed to Daniel Burk, director of product management at Velera (formerly CO-OP Solutions). At the time, Burk worked at Aux as her manager.
“He and I worked closely during that wild time of shuffling for tech authority. We worked side-by-side on close to a dozen fintech launches and partnerships, collaborating on go-to market strategies and launch plans,” she shared. “He always treated me with respect and patience, even when I was a young whippersnapper in my mid-twenties.”
Noting other champions, including Gemineye CEO Brewster Knowlton and COO Matt Jefferson, Disantis pays it forward by leading with a “respectful and philanthropic” attitude. “If someone wants advice or guidance, I give it to them,” she said. “If someone is stuck with a design or marketing strategy, let’s talk it out, on the house. Why guard your knowledge? That always seemed so weird to me.”
Simple but Revolutionary
Explaining that Gemineye has created a “completely unique” data analytics warehouse structure with its signature Gemineye Data Lakehouse, Disantis said the company has taken the “very best architecture” from Microsoft and Databricks and developed a data analytics platform around it.
“It seems so simple but is so revolutionary. Why wouldn’t you leverage world-class technology when it is sitting right in front of you?” she offered, adding that the solution is scalable for credit unions of any asset class. “It’s like going to Olive Garden and when they bring you fresh breadsticks, you tell them you are going to grow your own wheat and mill your flour to make your own breadsticks in six months.”
In Distantis’ view, the foundation of the credit union movement centers on its personal and symbiotic relationship with membership. As such, she said members are more likely to accept resources, advice and recommendations from their credit union. Partnering with liked-mined fintechs also helps credit unions further fulfill member-focused missions, she noted.
“Really understand who the people are that you are doing business with. What are their values? Why do they cost what they cost? Just because they have “CU” in their name doesn’t mean they have your best interest at heart,” she continued. “Partnering with fintechs that are invested in the credit union movement is key, not a group of people with one foot out the door into retirement.”