RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The search is on. The CaliforniaCredit Union League CEO Search Committee has begun the tremendoustask of replacing long-term CEO David L. Chatfield, who will retireApril 1, 2006. It would seem the League is standing at the edge ofa crucial precipice in its selection of Chatfield's replacement.After all, he is the respected leader of the largest credit uniontrade organization in the country, and his leadership positions onthe NCUA Board, Filene Research Institute and World Council ofCredit Unions have brought additional prestige to the League.However, Chatfield modestly played down the necessity of hisinvolvement. "I think we have a very good leadership team, a greatboard of directors and a terrific management staff - there's a goodtime for everything, and this is a good time for me to retire,"Chatfield said. "Every organization can benefit from a freshapproach. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the directionwe've set; in fact, much of what we've done, the League willcontinue to do after I'm gone. But someone of the stature they havein mind to replace me will have new things in mind, and I thinkthey'll find somebody well qualified to provide some great newideas." Diana Dykstra, League Chair and Head of the SearchCommittee to replace Chatfield, admits the task is a challengingone. However, she feels the League has the time and resourcesavailable to meet that challenge. "The good news is that Dave gaveone year's notice," Dykstra said. "We have some luxury of time,which allows for more thought to go into the process." According tothe timeline developed by the group, that luxury is a comfortableseven-month window in which to determine a successor by January 1,2006. First on the agenda is the selection of an executive searchfirm, which the group hopes to name by June 1. Approximately 10firms will soon receive requests for proposals. The firms rangefrom local to national in size and recruit from both inside andoutside the credit union industry. While the search firm is beingselected, the committee will define the most important qualitiesthey are looking for in the new CEO. Chatfield will work with aspecial subcommittee to identify these attributes, which willreceive full committee approval before the group reviews potentialcandidates. While Chatfield has made a name for himself in thelegislative arena, both leaders feel that quality isn't the mostcrucial one required of his replacement. "A great leader, and Daveis a great leader, makes sure the team around him is involved inall the critical roles," Dykstra said, "And there's three otherpeople at the League who have as many, if not more, legislativecontacts than he does." Chatfield agrees. "Being comfortable in thelegislative and regulatory environment is important, but havingthose contacts is more important for our staff who are directlyinvolved in those issues," he explained. "Although I have developedrelationships with Congressman (Brad) Sherman (D-Calif.),Representative (Ed) Royce (R-Calif.) and many others over theyears, frankly we have people on our staff and in our member creditunions that have even closer relationships than I do, which is howit should be." Chatfield said the League is well staffed withlegislative experts. In fact, the League recently hired its firstever Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist - Ryan Donovan - who mostrecently worked for Congressman Sherman's office on financialcommittee issues. He also voiced his confidence in Bob Arnould,Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs, who was once Speakerof the House in the state of Iowa. "Bob certainly knows thelegislative territory and has been able to develop relationshipshere in California," Chatfield said. Chatfield also recognized MattDavidson, Executive Vice President/COO, who was once the Ohio stateregulator of credit unions, Kelly Purcell, Director of FederalGovernmental Affairs, and Ron Fong, Director of State GovernmentAffairs, as leaders who can effectively represent the League'sinterests. So what qualities are the committee looking for? "It'sreally the innovation, the vision, the energy, and the passion ofhis leadership that we're looking to replace," Dykstra said.Dykstra also noted Chatfield's ability to build teams and develop asense of cooperation, which Chatfield agrees is important. "Unity.I think that's always a challenge, because we have a lot ofinnovative and aggressive credit union people in California andNevada, and even though there's a lot of individualism involved, westill need to be unified and do things as a family," he said. "Ithink we do that, but it's always been a challenge to keep peoplemoving in the same direction." Due to the size of credit unions ascompared to banks, collaboration isn't just helpful, it's anecessity. "We in the credit union industry feel pretty good aboutourselves, but we're too small to do anything on our own," theleader explained. "The shared branch system, Wescorp, the Co-op .all these shared systems credit unions use so well and so much .are all the result of successful collaboration." Communication isanother key quality Chatfield named, adding, "obviously, you haveto be able to communicate your vision." Dykstra said the committeeisn't looking to find a clone of Chatfield, but rather someone whocan grow with the position and change with the industry. "What wehired Dave to do 15 years ago isn't what he does today," Dykstraobserved, "so we're not just looking for another Dave, because hegrew into what the job has become." She recalled that when formerCEO Bill Broxterman left the position, League members werewondering how he would ever be replaced. "Then lo and behold, alongcame Dave, and now everyone is wondering what we'll do withouthim," she said, "and if we're successful with our recruitingefforts, we'll find our next leader and ask 15 years from now, `howare we going to replace him?'" Member credit unions have beenforthcoming in their opinions regarding the CEO search, Dykstrasaid. "California has a very active network of credit unions, andsince Dave's announcement, many have voiced their support, as wellas their opinions, on where we need to go," she said, adding, "butnobody has come up with anything the committee hasn't alreadydiscussed." Dykstra said the committee hopes to select a candidateby January 1, 2006, allowing plenty of time for the new CEO to bein place by March 1, 2006. "We want the new CEO to have plenty oftime to relocate, if necessary, and spend one month with Davebefore his retirement - especially if the person is from outsidethe industry," she said. -

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