WASHINGTON, Va.—CUNA and NAFCU have named 15 members who will serve on a transition board if the proposed merger between the two groups is approved by their members. In addition, the trade groups have released the proposed board structure for the merged organization, which is to be called "America's Credit Unions."
The 16-person board will include current board members from both CUNA and NAFCU, including members of each board’s executive committee, and CUNA CEO Jim Nussle. Brian Schools, president/CEO of Chartway Federal Credit Union and current vice chair for NAFCU, will chair the transition board.
“I am honored to be at the forefront of a vote for a historic merger where CUNA’s and NAFCU’s collective influence will prove to be a powerful force when advocating with regulators and lawmakers from all levels of government,” said Schools in a statement. “I am confident that we will continue to provide innovative, collaborative, and aggressive advocacy to bring victories for our credit union members and ensure the industry’s best days are ahead of us.”
Executive committee members of the proposed board are Vice Chair Lisa Ginter (CUNA board chair), who is CEO of Community America Credit Union; Treasurer Patrick Pierce, who is CEO of City and County Credit Union, and Secretary Karen Harbin, president/CEO of Commonwealth Credit Union.
In addition to the executive committee, the remaining proposed board roster includes:
- Lonnie Nicholson, president/CEO of Educational Employees Credit Union
- Nader Moghaddam, president/CEO of Financial Partners Credit Union
- Jeff Olson, president/CEO of Dakota Credit Union Association
- Gary Grinnell, president/CEO of Corning Federal Credit Union and current NAFCU board chair
- Lori Herrick, president/CEO of Manchester Municipal Federal Credit Union
- Scott Simpson, president/CEO of Utah Credit Union Association
- Melanie Kennedy, president of Southwest Financial Federal Credit Union
- Keith Sultemeier, president/CEO of Kinecta Federal Credit Union
- Brian Best, CEO of GTE Financial Credit Union
- Jim Morrell, president/CEO of Peninsula Community Federal Credit Union
- Amy Sink, CEO of Interra Credit Union
Proposed Continuing Board
Meanwhile, the organizations said that if the merger gets the OK the continuing board will consist of 15 voting members and two nonvoting members:
- There will be four classes of members: geographic (nine directors), at-large (four directors), league (two directors) and nonvoting (two directors).
- Each geographic class will be represented on the continuing board; there will be three small, three medium, and three large credit unions seats.
- At-large members of the continuing board will be elected from all credit unions
- Continuing board executive committee officers will be chair, vice chair, treasurer, secretary, and America’s Credit Unions CEO
- Only directors from natural person credit unions and the CEO will be allowed to hold officer positions
Internal Meetings Held
Meanwhile, both CUNA and NAFCU are reporting they have held internal meetings with employees following their announcement of the plan to merge.
NAFCU said it hosted an in-person all-staff meeting this week during which CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle joined NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger to answer employees’ questions about the proposed merger of the two trade groups. Nussle is to serve as president of the merged organization; Berger said he plans to depart once the merger is complete.
Berger and Nussle also are scheduled to appear before the Defense Credit Union Council meeting in Colorado Springs today.
CUNA has also held an internal meeting. CUToday.info has been told by several sources that, not surprisingly, many employees of both organizations have questions regarding job security.
In their released statements, the two trade groups have not addressed that issue, but did say during a media call earlier this week they will hold a press conference in the near future.
‘Passion for Making a Difference’
According to NAFCU, during its all-staff meeting, Nussle and Berger stated CUNA and NAFCU’s “passion for making a difference for credit unions and their members,” and that “America’s Credit Unions will continue to be focused on providing relentless advocacy, compliance assistance, and impactful educational events.
Nussle and Berger were joined on the panel discussing the merger by NAFCU Vice Chair Brian Schools, CEO of Chartway FCU in Virginia Beach, Va., and y NAFCU Executive Vice President and COO Anthony Demangone, who moderated the discussion.
Vote to Be Held
As CUToday.info has reported, the merger will be subject to approval from the members of CUNA and NAFCU during a 60-day voting period, which is planned to begin later this month. Should members approve of the merger, America’s Credit Unions will legally be established no earlier than January 2024, with the intent to be fully operational by early 2025, NAFCU said.
Additional details of the intent to merge can be found online on a site the two trade groups have created.
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