COLUMBUS, Ohio—Lee Butke, president/CEO of Corporate One Federal Credit Union, has announced retirement plans after more than 25 years in leadership at the corporate CU.
During his tenure, Corporate One has grown from a $1.2-billion corporate credit union serving member credit unions within the state of Ohio to $5.5 billion in assets under management and serving credit unions across the country in nearly all 50 states, Corporate One reported.
Corporate One said that under Butke’s leadership major accomplishments have included:
- Becoming one of the first corporate credit unions to create a successful national field of membership business model
- Developing Primary Financial Company (a CUSO) and the SimpliCD program, a CD investment and issuance program used today by thousands of credit unions nationwide, now owned by the corporate credit union network.
- Being the largest corporate to successfully survive the economic downturn intact without impairing members’ capital shares nor costing the share insurance fund even $1 during the economic crisis.
- Responding to and retooling Corporate One, after extensive regulatory changes were made by the National Credit Union Administration, to create a stronger, safer, well capitalized, and profitable organization.
- Leading an initiative that resulted in a highly successful merger with Southeast Corporate Federal Credit Union.
- Envisioning an evolving landscape for credit unions by developing innovative new fintech-based solutions to meet the new demands of our members for faster payments and high-touch channels that credit unions will need to remain relevant.
“It has been one of the great honors of my life to work with, and for, so many fine men and women who are the heart and soul of the credit union movement,” said Butke. “I have been truly blessed and will be forever grateful for the opportunities I have been given and for the people that have crossed my path. A lot has changed in my 40-plus years working at credit unions, but the one thing that has remained constant is the boundless passion of credit unions who work so tirelessly to serve their members. Serving credit unions through my role as CEO of Corporate One has been a gift, and I am excited to start on my next journey. I am now looking forward to working with the board and our executive team to ensure a smooth transition for our credit union members who we have the privilege of serving.”
Butke began his 40-plus year credit union career at Wright-Patt Credit Union as a management trainee, progressing to a vice president position. Butke then served for over a decade as the CEO of Day Air and Telhio credit unions before arriving at Corporate One. He presently serves on the board of the Community Depository Institution Advisory Committee (CDIAC) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and the board of Primary Financial Company LLC.