Eugene Szymczak, president and CEO at Wisconsin-based Educators CU, unexpectedly died in his sleep on Dec. 4. He was 67 years old.
Szymczak served ECU for 44 years and took the helm in 1994, overseeing growth from $170 million in assets and 33,000 members to nearly $1.7 billion in assets and 144,000 members today.
In a statement announcing Szymczak's passing, Mary Lueneburg, chair of ECU's board of directors, called him "a generous, selfless human being as well as an inspiring leader. Gene considered everyone in the Educators organization an extension of his family. He made it a point to know the first name of those who work here and took great pleasure in interacting with our members. He will be deeply missed. His drive to service, excellence and doing what is right will be hallmarks that we will carry forward with us."
Chief Operations Officer Linda Hoover has been appointed as interim CEO.
