Royal Credit Union looks down the hall for its next CEO

Eau Claire, Wis.-based Royal Credit Union on Tuesday said EVP Brandon Riechers will take over as its president and CEO on July 31.

Randy Beck has been serving as interim president and CEO of the $2.1 billion credit union since April 15, following the departure of Rudy Pereira.

Doug Olson, Royal CU’s board chairman, said the decision to tap Riechers was unanimously approved by the board of directors. Riechers will be the fourth CEO to lead the credit union since it was created in 1964.

“I am very pleased to announce that the person best suited and uniquely qualified to be our next president and CEO has been with Royal Credit Union for more than 20 years and grew up right here in the Chippewa Valley,” Olson said in a statement. “We owed it to our members to conduct a nationwide search and consider all candidates. We chose Brandon because he is a values-driven, member-focused, strategic leader who is respected throughout the community and the credit union industry. Brandon is ready to lead Royal into the future.”

Riechers started at Royal in 1996 as a branch financial sales representative while he was a student at UW-Eau Claire. He advanced through several leadership roles at Royal in lending, and has served as executive vice president chief lending officer since 2012.

Riechers holds finance and management information systems BBA degrees from UW-Eau Claire and will graduate with his MBA from UW-Eau Claire in December. He also is a graduate of CUNA Management School and the Cardwell CEO Leadership program.

Royal CU credits Riechers with leading the expansion of the credit union’s Minnesota markets by successfully negotiating acquisitions of a bank and a bank branch. RCU said he also has helped grow the credit union’s loan portfolio through business services innovation, and served on the National Credit Union Administration Exam Flexibility Task Force.

“I am honored to be selected as Royal Credit Union’s next president and chief executive officer,” said Riechers. “Royal has a proud history, a reputation for excellence and is deeply committed to serving our members. I look forward to leading an organization that exists to make a positive impact in the lives we touch and the communities we serve.”

Riechers and his wife Emily live in Eau Claire. They have one daughter, Ella.