Last week, America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle announced his intention to retire. Nussle has served in his current role since the organization’s founding a little over two years ago, when the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), of which Nussle was President and CEO since 2014, merged.
Nussle did not provide an exact date of his retirement, as it is most likely contingent on America’s Credit Union’s search committee’s ability to find and hire a replacement, a process the organization said would be ongoing for “several months.” During this time, Nussle was clear that he will serve with as much vigor as ever and continue to advocate for credit union causes.
“Serving credit unions is a deep personal privilege. After a long career in advocacy from both sides of the policymaking table, leading CUNA, and the honor of helping to create and lead America’s Credit Unions, it is soon time for me to pursue new interests in retirement. My announcement today is intended to provide the Board the time to conduct a thorough national search to find the next leader for the Association,” Nussle said.
Nussle went on to say, “My full and ongoing focus will be on our intensive credit union advocacy efforts to protect our credit union model. Credit Unions are the financial first responders in every community around the country, providing important access to financial services to enhance the financial well-being of our consumer members and advancing communities across the country including many that banks have abandoned.”
Nussle’s announcement comes just one month after the organization’s annual Governmental Affairs Conference (perhaps Nussle’s last) and during a very critical time for the industry, as it continues to deal with sweeping reform and fight against the removal of the credit union tax-exemption status. Hopefully, Nussle will see the industry through the most pressing of these before passing on the mantle.
In regard to the search for his replacement, ACU announced that ACU Vice Chair Karen Harbin, president/CEO of Commonwealth Credit Union, would be leading the search committee. However, we shouldn’t expect any news on this front for a while, as the organization was clear it would take its time in finding the right candidate.
