Inman Award recipient Moghaddam calls Councils the credit union movement's "secret sauce"

Nader Moghaddam had spent 17 years in banking before attending his first credit union Councils conference in Portland, Ore. He watched as one attendee laid out an incentive plan in full detail, and another simply asked, “Can I get a copy of that?” The answer came without hesitation: “Sure.” Then it happened again with a policy document. And again.  

“I said, ‘who are these people?’” Moghaddam recalled. In banking, conferences were about finding a way to get something without giving anything. Here, people were sharing openly.  

“(The credit union difference) hit home,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”

That moment of recognition launched a 27-year career defined by the same spirit of open-handed collaboration. On March 2, America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Scott Simpson and Councils Executive Committee Chair Brad Barnes presented Moghaddam, president and CEO of Financial Partners Credit Union, with the 2026 Greg Inman Servant Leadership Award during the Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C.

“Nader is a long-time force in the credit union movement,” Simpson said. “He embodies the credit union movement’s ‘people helping people’ mission in all that he does. He models the best practices and actively invests in the next generation of credit union leaders.”

A “Council groupie” from the start

Moghaddam’s involvement with Councils deepened through an unlikely circumstance. He was attending a Councils conference in Orlando on Sept. 11, 2001, when the attacks emptied the hotel. He and two other conference attendees were among the last people in a cavernous Hyatt, spending the days playing poker with pistachios until flights resumed. By the time he got home, those two fellow conference attendees had recruited him to the Council Executive Committee. “The rest is history,” Moghaddam said. “I became a Council groupie pretty early on.”

He went on to chair the Operations Council and the Councils Executive Committee, and to co-found the CEO Council. Moghaddam describes Councils as “the secret sauce” of the credit union industry, crediting the network with elevating technical expertise and professional development across the movement. “Whether you’re in the Marketing Council or the CFO Council, you’re already bought into the mindset: I would love to share, and I love to learn,” he said.

The experience also sharpened leadership skills that no corporate hierarchy could teach. “It helped me figure out how to negotiate, collaborate, and motivate people to focus on solving something together without controlling someone’s paycheck,” Moghaddam said. “It’s completely volunteer. So, you have to get passionate about the goal.”

Roots of service

When asked where his drive to serve others originates, Moghaddam pointed to his grandmother, a woman who held a seat on the Tehran, Iran City Council at a time when few women occupied public roles in that country. Every winter, she organized the extended family to collect hundreds of pairs of gloves and warm socks for orphanages. One day, she brought young Nader along to a summer camp where she addressed roughly a thousand orphaned children from behind a podium. “I was moved by it,” he said. “It always stuck with me.”

Born in Iran, Moghaddam attended boarding school in England at 13, then chose the University of Southern California over the University of Calgary on someone’s advice that California was warmer. When Iran’s revolution upended his family’s circumstances, he held three jobs to get back on his feet. “The true American story,” he called it. “Start from nothing, stay focused, and work at it.”

That focus carried him from 17 years in banking to the credit union movement, and eventually to the helm of Financial Partners Credit Union, where he has served as president and CEO for more than 21 years. Under his leadership, the credit union grew from $600 million to more than $2.3 billion in assets while expanding financial literacy programs, youth development initiatives, and community partnerships.

Speaking with one voice

Beyond Financial Partners Credit Union, Moghaddam has served on the America’s Credit Unions Board, the National Credit Union Foundation Board, and as chair of the California Credit Union League Board and the CU Direct (now Origence) Board, among other roles. One accomplishment he takes particular pride in predates many of those positions. In 2009, Moghaddam helped commission a white paper advocating for a merger of CUNA and NAFCU to form a single national voice for the credit union industry. He and a small group of colleagues presented it to both national organization boards. “Five minutes later, we were out of the room,” he recalled with a laugh.

Years later, while serving on the CUNA board, he watched that merger become reality in 2024. The lesson, he said, applies well beyond organizational structure. “When we collaborate, we’re far stronger than when we don’t,” Moghaddam said. “Speaking with one voice and not giving elected officials the luxury of saying, ‘You guys go work it out between you.’”

“Councils is proud to present Nader with the Inman Award for a career dedicated to the betterment of his credit union, his community, and the entire credit union movement,” said Barnes, who also serves as chief financial officer at Air Academy Credit Union. “His authenticity and spirit of servant leadership impact all who have had the privilege to work with him.”

Bookends of a career

As Moghaddam approaches retirement next year, the Inman Award carries particular personal weight. He called it the most meaningful recognition he could receive, given his deep roots in Councils. “It sort of brings it all together,” he said. “The bookends—starting with the Councils and then evolving.” His nominators at Financial Partners Credit Union described him as “more than a leader” and “a living example of servant leadership.” Bill Cheney, CEO of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, called Moghaddam “a collaborator by heart.” Lucy Ito of California’s Credit Unions described him as “the total package.”

For Moghaddam, though, the credit belongs to the movement itself. “I believe the cooperative spirit of credit unions brings out the best in all of us,” he said. “That focus on humanity, on making a positive impact on people’s lives and our communities, inspires us to do right by our members. When we work together as an industry, we are a formidable force for good.”

About the Greg Inman Servant Leadership Award:

The Greg Inman Servant Leadership Award was established by Councils in 2022 to honor the legacy of Greg Inman, chief operations officer of Neighbors Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge, La., who passed away in 2021. The award recognizes individuals within the credit union movement who put others first, build strong communities, foster growth in those around them, and lead with authenticity, vision, and shared responsibility.