The South Carolina Credit Union League has tapped its veteran lobbyist, Steve Fowler, the league's current executive vice president, to be its new president/CEO, ending a nine-month search.
In reaching internally for management talent, the league board said it selected an executive "who understands the needs of our member credit unions."
Fowler has 38 years of experience in the industry and has been with the league since 1971, joining the trade group as an auditor in 1971. Fowler succeeds Garry Parks, who retired as CEO at the end of 2009.
While a national search was underway, Fowler has been interim CEO since the first of this year.
"This is a critical time in the credit union industry, and the leadership role at the association has never been more important," said SCCUL Chairman Scott Woods, who also is president/CEO of South Carolina FCU, North Charleston.
The association, he said, "worked hard to align our strategy for strong advocacy at the association level," which is why it selected Fowler.
In his CEO role, he also heads up management of South Carolina Service Corp., the processing subsidiary. He previously managed the corporate credit union since merged into First Carolina Corporate CU.
--jrubenstein@cutimes.com
