SAN JOSE, Calif. Meriwest CU announced this morning longtime CEO Christopher Owen is retiring and will be succeeded by Julie Kirsch, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the $1.8 billion credit union, the latest IBM employees’ credit union to see new leadership.
Owen has been with Meriwest for 22 years as it quadrupled in size from a single-sponsor credit union for IBM employees to a multi-community institution serving members around the San Francisco Bay area and in Tucson, Ariz.
Owen’s departure follows the recent retirements of Frank Berrish, the longtime CEO at Visions FCU in New York and Larry Wilson at Coastal FCU, both among what was once a network of 29 IBM credit unions across the country.
The IBM employees survived despite major cutbacks in the company’s workforce over the past three decades by adding hundreds of select groups and even community charters to expand their markets. The change has produced such credit unions as Meriwest, Visions, MidHudson Valley FCU, Coastal FCU in North Carolina, Premier Members FCU in Boulder, Colo. and Amplify FCU in Austin, Texas.
Kirsch has been COO since 1996 and EVP since 2000 and has worked closely with Owen for a number of years to set the company’s strategic direction.
“Our succession planning is developed to ensure Meriwest remains a sound, healthy institution with relevant products that meet all the financial needs of our members. I believe this mission will be carried forward under Julie’s direction,” Owen said.
