Paul Parish, president/CEO of the $3.2 billion Wings Financial Credit Union, announced May 2 he will retire at the end of the year.
"During his tenure the assets of the credit union have increased more than tenfold while its balance sheet has remained strong and stable," said Michael Cooper, board chairman of the Apple Valley, Minn.-based credit union. "Just as importantly, Paul has built a best-in-class management team and has nurtured a culture of exceptional service and high return of value to members."
Wings Financial said Parish’s announcement is an important milestone in a succession planning process that has been under way since mid-year 2010. The credit union’s board of directors said it has been working with Parish to ensure comprehensive executive succession planning across the entire management team and has retained an executive search firm to identify both internal and external candidates for the CEO position.
Wings Financial made history in March 2007 when it attempted what some described as the CU industry’s first hostile takeover attempt of Continental Federal Credit Union. The NCUA put an end to the merger attempt, saying Wings overstepped Federal Credit Union Act regulations when it offered $200 payments to Continental’s members if the merger went through. Wings has since partnered with several airlines and organizations to serve their employees.
