GAME CHANGERS • GAIL DEBOER

GAILDEBOERwas

o n a safari lastyearwhen she found out some interesting facts about zebras.

GAILDEBOER trueblue

“the guide said zebras thrive because theyactlike a team, theylookoutforeach otherand warn each otherwhen there’s danger, and theygather around theiryoung,”she said.

it’s fitting thatthose particularqualities appealed to english, who serves children’s hospital & medical centeras executive vice president, chief operating officer(coo) and chiefnursing officer (cno). she also has a couple ofpictures ofzebras in heroffice.

“i came backto hospital and said,‘we’re going to be zebras,”she said.“and the bestpartofitisthata group ofzebrasiscalled a‘dazzle.’isn’tthatcool?”

english joined children’s in 1991 as cno, and she came to the position with significantexperience in directpatientcare.

“i have spentmywhole careerin children’s hospitals,”she said.“when i graduated from nursing school i wentrightto the children’s hospital in fortworth (texas) and was there for 15 years. i started as a nurse on the 11-to-7 shift on the adolescentunit, and when i left i was the assistantvice presidentforpatientcare.”

itwas hard to leave the facilitywhere she’d launched hercareer, english said, butafter15 years itwas time to stretch herwings and experience anotherorganization, with one stipulation: ithad to be a children’s hospital. when the one in omaha called, english hadn’t interviewed in years and looked forward to the experience being“good practice.”she wasn’t counting on anything coming ofit, butinstead of merelywooing her, omaha’s children’s hospital wowed her.

true blue

IN 1988

Gail DeBoer was hireD By strateGic air commanD FeDeral creDit Union to start its aUDit Department, “which was me anD a parttime clerk,” she saiD. as small as the Department was, DeBoer coUlD see that the new position miGht leaD to promisinG opportUnities. the clerk, who was nearinG retirement, saw even BiGGer potential: that DeBoer coUlD Go all the way to the top.

“she said i could someday be the president. it had never dawned on me that i could aspire to that. But it really did cause me to think,” DeBoer said.“i think that changed my focus. i looked longer-term at that point.”

not even 20 years after her colleague’s prescient comment, in 2007 DeBoer indeed became president and chief executive officer of the organization, which was sac Federal credit Union until 2018 and is now called cobalt credit Union.

resolve for education DeBoer’s career began a long way from the c-suite and at a time when career options for women were still relatively limited. DeBoer had decided after highschool graduation that since she didn’t aspire to be a nurse or teacher, college wasn’t for her. she went to work as a secretary for the omaha royals baseball team, but quickly determined that an administrative career wasn’t quite the right fit, either.

the experience helped foster a new perspective on college, however, and DeBoer took night and summer classes in accounting at the University of nebraska omaha while working for an energy company. she also married and started a family during that period.

“i couldn’t afford to go full time,” she said. “i went for 11 years to earn my undergrad.”

later, she passed the certified public accountant (cpa) exam and earned a master of Business administration (mBa) degree from Bellevue University, also while juggling work and family. DeBoer said she’s proud of had already taken advantage of numerous professional her persistence in reaching her educational goals, and development opportunities, but she advanced her that she hopes sharing her story has given others in education by going back to school and securing her similar circumstances confidence that higher education mBa in three years. is obtainable for them, too. enron corporation through a merger in 1985. By 1988, DeBoer there after a change in senior leadership, all-employee meeting and felt he was not trustworthy.” always looking ahead at the credit union, DeBoer said she always looked ahead to the next rung on the company ladder, seeking professional development and additional responsibility that could help her step up. so when a senior executive slot opened, DeBoer had solid credentials to submit. as senior vice president of operations, DeBoer oversaw a team of up to 150, and held the role for 12 years. “i learned to manage people, be on the front line with members and understand the member experience,” she said. “i think those 12 years really prepared me for what i wanted to do if i ever became president.” for retirement well in advance of the event. DeBoer “i tried to do everything so when the position came up, “it’s doable,” she said. “it’s not easy—but it’s doable.” i would be prepared,” DeBoer recalled. “i think that’s DeBoer had taken advantage of educational benefits job would look like and what you would need for that provided by her full-time employer, which became job. Do it before it’s available, because when is too late.” she had risen to the position of senior internal auditor. she also knew the opportunity might never present the stability and job security were not enough to keep itself again, DeBoer said. however. “i was not willing to take that chance. i wanted to make “i left enron, which was weird then because it was the apply or at least as much,” she said. “plus, as a woman best employer in town. For pay, anyway, and i thought i needed more… it never hurts to have that opportunity,” she said. “But i had met ken lay at an edge.” her instincts eventually proved correct years later DeBoer explained. things are better today for women when enron was brought down by a notorious scandal in the professional world in general than when she that ended in bankruptcy and with lay being found started, she added, but the playing field isn’t level yet. guilty of 10 counts of securities fraud. “we’re getting closer. we have come a long way.”

the then-president and ceo announced a 2007 date what a lot of people fail to do, is look at what the next sure that i had more than anybody else who would Female banking executives are the minority, even now, DeBoer said she proved one vocal detractor wrong (“he went to every branch and said, ‘what makes her think she can do that job?’”) simply by doing well. extraordinarily well. she’s received numerous industry awards including a 2011 ceo of the year award by the national association of Federally-insured credit Unions (naFcU). in 2019, DeBoer was named to the omaha Business hall of Fame.

fostering teamwork the credit union has thrived under her leadership.

“everyone in the senior team has a department they’re responsible for. my job is overseeing the whole credit union,” she said. “i make sure every department has what they need and that they’re keeping that teamwork going.”

GAILDEBOER

“ “ …LOOKATWHATTHEnextJOBWOULDLOOK LIKEANDWHATYOUWOULDNEEDFORTHAT JOB.DOIT beforeIT’SAVAILABLE,BECAUSE whenISTOOLATE.

~ GAIL DEBOER

nEBraska statE sEnatOr

she also works for cobalt’s board ofdirectors, DeBoer said, as a credit union is a not-for-profit entity, and this means serving as a liaison in a position oftrust.

“i have to make sure i am providing them with everything they need to govern the credit union,”she said.“it’s maintaining that relationship and making sure i communicate to the board everything we’re doing, and then i take back to the senior team the expectations ofthe board.”

she also watches over how cobalt is represented in the community.

“community is why we exist,”she said.“we need to make sure we are responsible and give back to that community. credit unions are particularly good at that. our motto is‘people helping people.’and since we’re a not-for-profit, we can give back more.”

DeBoer gives back, too. some ofthe organizations she serves or has served include the Greater omaha chamber, knights ofak-sar-Ben, opera omaha, nebraska shakespeare, ican, women’s Fund ofomaha, United way ofthe midlands and children’s hospital Foundation.

she’s also influenced the development ofa program at cobalt that is particularly close to her heart. “we really emphasize education at the credit union. we started a new certificate program so employees that maybe were not confident about taking classes can step into it slowly. we recently graduated the first group,”she said. “that was my dream. it worked, and i love that.”

DeBoer and husband John, who is retired, raised three children together: matt, amanda, and mike, who all are now married and established in careers oftheir own. now the couple is enjoying grandchildren including 7-year-old boy/girl twins, two girls both approaching a first birthday, and a newborn boy.

“i just adore those kids,”DeBoer said. a primary goal of her upcoming retirement is to spend more time with them. she also hopes to travel more and get in some fly-fishing.

that’s right: fly-fishing. DeBoer was only trying to be a good sport the first time she tried fly-fishing with her avid fisherman husband in colorado, she said. she was as surprised to discover how much she liked it as much as people are surprised to hear it’s one ofher favorite pastimes; it’s the perfect antithesis to her busy career.

“it slows my brain down. i don’t have to stress about it because ifi don’t catch a fish, i don’t care,”she said. “i don’t have a lot oftime for hobbies, but it brings peace to me.”

This special feature is sponsored by planitomaha.

planitomaha is dedicated to honoring women whose influence not only impacts the boardroom but the community.

“Welcome to

one of the largest and most prestigious meeting planning firms in the midwest

omaha magazine B2B winners since 2008

national, regional and local meetings and events

nationally recognized as a leader in the meetings & event industry

supporting our community through our nonprofit work and the boards/organizations we are members of

planitomaha has been providing event and meeting management solutions for twenty years.

we are a client-centric firm that provides unmatched service and professionalism.

while proudly located in the midwest, our crazy-talented event team works from new york to la and everywhere in the middle.