In this concise "6 questions in 7 minutes" interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Felipe Cofinho, Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Signal Financial Federal Credit Union. Felipe explains his role and the mission of the credit union, emphasizing the satisfaction of helping members achieve financial stability and fostering a strong workplace culture. He discusses the challenge of work‑life balance, noting that top‑down support is essential and must be used wisely. Felipe recommends Sam Kayucci, CEO of OneHuddle, for his gamified training platform that the credit union has used successfully. His core leadership advice is to lead by example, take calculated risks, and build culture early—before success forces an external firm to step in. He shares his first job as a locksmith, highlighting how it taught him structure, responsibility, and skill acquisition. The episode closes with contact information: Felipe is active on LinkedIn and the credit union’s website (signalfinancialfcu.org).
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
My name is Felipe Cofinho. I'm the Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Signal Financial Federal Credit Union in the Maryland, DC, Virginia area.
Felipe, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
Um, the best thing about working in our industry, I would say, is helping others be more financially sound and building those relationships so that it's a lifelong relationship, not just a moment in time that we help them, that we continue to help them. But also the satisfaction of helping employees create a great workplace and a great culture, especially to get us through tough times like today.
Mm, that's very sound. Question number 3, I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance for them and their team members is a challenge. What are your thoughts?
I think it's a challenge if you don't have support from all areas, especially from the top. But I found that when you don't have that, it is not going to work. When you do have that, it is something that you should not take advantage of or use it loosely. Appreciate it, use it wisely so that you can continue to have it in the future.
Mm, that's very insightful. Thank you. Question number 4: What other successful business leaders like yourself should be on my podcast?
Um, you know, I just spoke to somebody recently that I had join me, and his name is Sam Kayucci. He's a CEO and founder of OneHuddle. He has gamified training to help reinforce training in the workplace, and we've used it for the last few years, and it has helped us tremendously. So I'd highly recommend him.
Oh, that sounds like fun. Gamification, love it. I'll, I'll reach out to him. Thank you for that referral. Question number 5: What insight or advice would you like to give to other business leaders?
You know, lead by example, be somebody who's not too afraid of risk, and make sure that you build your culture before your success. Because if you wait to be successful and then try to build your culture, you end up hiring an outside firm to do it for you, or you do it ineffectively. But if you build it as you grow, that culture will lead you to success. Hmm.
So that's interesting about having to have a third-party company build your culture for you. That's, that is really an interesting thought because it really belongs to the people who work at the company. Would that be what you're saying there?
Yeah. It'd be like someone coming into your house saying, hey, you hired me to come in and tell you how to manage your finances, manage your children, how to clean your house. We shouldn't have to have someone and pay someone to do that. We should be able to figure that out ourselves.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And question number 6. Please tell me about your first job.
So my first job that I ever truly had was actually as a locksmith. I actually had a job where I manned the store and made keys for people and dispatched calls to the locksmith. And then I slowly learned how to actually repair locks and open locks for people, to the point where I practiced a lot on my brothers' and sisters' bedrooms to break into the bedrooms. But, you know, Uh, but I enjoyed it because it taught me a lot about just having some structure, responsibility, and learning new skills.
That's really interesting. I haven't had anyone who's been a locksmith before, and I, I think about it too, that when I was a kid there were several locksmith stores, but now you only see these mobile locksmiths.
Yep, exactly. And that's what it was, is that most of it was mobile. I was in a tiny little store that people could come in for small things, but for the most part They were driving around and I would just call them for the calls.
Hmm. Really neat. So Felipe, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
Um, well, I am very active on LinkedIn. So under Felipe Cofinho at LinkedIn, uh, you can definitely see me there. Uh, that's probably the most thing, but if you visit us, uh, at singlefinancialfcu.org, uh, there's a lot of great things that we're doing, not only just for people who are looking for financial support, but also what we're doing in the community and for our employees, we really celebrate all of it.
So perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
