KALAMAZOO, Mich.– Cheryl DeBoer, president and CEO of Advia Credit Union, has announced plans to retire in early 2023.
DeBoer has been a leader in the credit union industry for more than 40 years, beginning as a lobby greeter at a Co-Op Service Center in her hometown during high school.
As Advia’s president and CEO since 2004 (formerly known as First Community FCU), the credit union said she has helped grow assets to $2.6-billion from $273 million in assets, branches to 29 from eight, and membership to nearly 190,000 across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois from 52,000.
“Advia is positioned within the top 3% of credit unions nationally when measured in terms of total assets,” the credit union said in a statement. “This is a direct result of DeBoer’s forward-thinking and strategic leadership decisions over the past 18 years. Serving nine counties when DeBoer took the helm, Advia now offers membership to all those living within the southern peninsula of Michigan, nine counties in Wisconsin, and seven counties in Illinois. She has also contributed to significant expansion in Advia’s position as a commercial lender, with the organization now serving nearly 10,000 businesses.”
‘Love of Education’
DeBoer holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, an MS in business administration and a BS in business administration and accounting.
“She has embraced and shared her love of education to Advia’s members, her team and volunteer board of directors, introducing paid higher education initiatives for staff, an annual commitment of youth scholarships to graduating high school seniors, executive team Credit Union Development Education (CUDE) programming, and credit union industry training programs for her board,” Advia stated.
Career Highlights
DeBoer has also been:
- Nominated by her peers as CUNA’s CU Hero of the Year in 2022
- Named Michigan CU League’s Credit Union Professional of the Year in 2011
- Been an active member of the 340-strong Women Association Executives Network
- Held numerous other board positions, such as board director of Salus Group (a healthcare broker for credit unions), board director of The Mortgage Center (a mortgage lending CUSO that Advia cooperatively owns with other CUs)
- Pension Plan Trustee of the Michigan Credit Union Employee Pension Plan
- Held board roles within Alloya Corporate Credit Union
- Contributed greatly by supporting efforts of NASCUS as part of their nominating committee
- Served as chairperson of National Institute for State Chartered Credit Union Examiners (NISCUE) in 2018
‘Incredible Contributions’
“We will greatly miss Cheryl as Advia’s president and CEO and thank her for the incredible contributions she has made throughout her career to the credit union movement, and more importantly, the significant value for her membership and Advia employees,” said Chairman Nicole Kalmbach. “Her dedication and passion in living out Advia’s core values and mission of providing financial advantages provides long-term benefits to those she’s worked with and members’ lives impacted during her leadership tenure.”
Humanaidei is handling the search for a replacement.