WASHINGTON-CUNA President Dan Mica announced last week he will retire as head of the industry's largest trade group in January 2011.
Mica, 65, took over CUNA in 1996 as it was mired in debt from an ill-fated foray into the credit card processing business, then restructured it while guiding it through a national campaign that overturned a Supreme Court ruling barring multiple group fields of membership, culminating in HR 1151, the 1998 CU Membership Access Act.
The campaign for HR 1151 came just a few months after Mica took over CUNA and helped build both the trade association and credit unions into an influential source in Washington. In more recent years CUNA has been beset by financial woes that have affected credit unions, losing more than $8 million in 2008 and $5 million in 2007.
"My mentor, the late Rep. Paul Rogers, often said an individual should spend no more than 10 years in any particular role or position," Mica, who is in his 13th year at the CUNA helm, said in a prepared statement. "I followed that advice as a congressional staff member, as a member of Congress and in my position prior to CUNA. I love what I do here at CUNA, and I deeply care about the credit union movement - so I have stayed a bit longer than Paul's advice would allow."
Mica worked as a congressional aide to Democrat Rogers then succeeded him in the House, serving from 1979 to 1989.
Last week's announcement is likely to set off a succession competition for the highest-paying job in the credit union movement, which pays about $1.2 million a year. CUNA Chairman Kris Mecham said a search committee will be formed to find a successor to Mica. "Replacing Dan Mica will be one of the greatest challenges CUNA has ever dealt with," Mecham told CU Journal. "I believe that when look back over his tenure, Dan Mica will be remembered as one of th egreatest leaders the credit union movement has ever known."
"A few years ago I thought about stepping down, but I didn't want to do it while some hot issues were going on, but what I've determined is that there's always a hot issue going on," Mica told CU Journal. "I had originally made the decision right around Christmas and I intended to walk onto the stage at GAC and make the announcement, but the week before that is when the corporates went down, and we didn't want it to appear that I was bailing on a bad situation."
The announcement means Mica will be the first CUNA CEO to leave of his own accord-something Mica has often said was his goal. "I love coming to work every day," he said. "The board doesn't want me to go. But every so many years it is time for an organization to have a change in leadership. It is that time right now for CUNA. It's healthy for me to take on new challenges, and it's healthy for the organization."
Those who have worked with Mica, as well as those who have crossed swords with him, offered their thoughts on Mica's pending departure. "Dan has been a very committed advocate of the credit union industry. Over the years, I have been fortunate to work with him as we move forward on a number of major challenges facing our industry," said Fred Becker, NAFCU CEO. "As a result, we brought to fruition several landmark achievements to the benefit of credit unions. Dan has been a respected and accomplished colleague and I wish him all the best in all his future endeavors, or as I say to my friends, 'Fair winds and following seas.'"
"Dan has been a great asset to the credit union industry," said Edward L. Yingling, American Bankers Association CEO. "Having been on the other side of battles with him, I have great respect for what he has accomplished. He built a strong organization."
Stepping down with Mica is his long-time aide Richard McBride, who has served as Mica's right-hand man with CUNA and previously during his days on Capitol Hill. Among Mica's major accomplishments as head of CUNA were the eight-year fight for bankruptcy reform and the building of CUNA's political action committee into one of the most influential on Capitol Hill.
