Irene Oberbauer, the former president and CEO of San Diego County Credit Union, died Nov. 21 at the age of 64, according to a Dec. 9 statement from the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues.
Oberbauer spent 12 years at SDCCU, including leading its business development division and serving as chief operating officer. The credit union’s first female CEO, she was appointed to that position in 2007 following Rod Calvao’s retirement after 15 years as CEO. She
Today it has assets of more than $9.4 billion and serves over 424,000 members.
Oberbauer received multiple awards through her career, including a lifetime-achievement award from the San Diego Business Journal and was named “Most Admired CEO” by both the Business Journal and San Diego’s Daily Transcript.
Prior to joining the credit union movement, Oberbauer spent 18 years working in local government.
After retiring from SDCCU, Oberbauer continued to support non-profits including Susan G. Komen San Diego and Make-A-Wish San Diego. She acted as board chair for the local chapters of both organizations.
She was remembered fondly by those who knew her.
"I had the pleasure of working with Irene at SDCCU for 15 years," Lisa Paul-Hill, CEO of Wheelhouse Credit Union in San Diego, said in the statement. "Irene was an incredible leader, passionate about the credit union movement and local philanthropy. A true visionary, many could argue the success of SDCCU was due largely in part to Irene’s strategic vision, tireless dedication and tenacity.”
She is survived by her husband, two sons and a grandchild.
