Geoff Johnson, chief operating officer of the CU*Answers credit union service organization, has been promoted to president and COO.
Randy Karnes will remain CEO of CU*Answers.
Johnson has served as chief operating officer since 2014, overseeing day-to-day operations and outreach to the CUSO’s clientele. While he is set to continue in that role, he is also expected to develop a closer working relationship with the board and the CUSO’s corporate officer team.
“The last fourteen years have seen many changes and evolutions in the credit union industry and data processing,” Johnson said in a statement. “In that time since I’ve been at CU*Answers I’ve never been more excited about tomorrow.”
Despite splitting the duties of president and CEO, Johnson’s appointment is not a succession planning tactic, said Karnes. Instead, Johnson’s promotion is a strategic expansion on the senior team and a step toward evolving the executive council.
Karnes added that last year, the CUSO “added two new EVPs [after] our CIO’s retirement as part of this process.”
“[T]his move is more about expanding our pursuits of opportunity than “who’s up next’ in our organizational chart,” Karnes said in an e-mail to Credit Union Journal. “I have not announced my retirement date as of this date and I am excited to lead the organization under contract until the end of 2022.”
CU*Answers is a CUSO offering insight on operational needs and technical strategies for credit unions. Services that the CUSO offers includes network design and security, web development and image check processing along with its flagship CU*BASE processing system. The organization will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020.
