R. Frank Weidner has been selected to be the next president/CEO of Wings Financial Credit Union.
In November, Weidner will succeed Paul Parish, who will retire from the $3.2 billion credit union in Apple Valley, Minn. at the end of October.
Weidner currently serves as senior vice president for member services at the $7.9 billion Alliant Credit Union in Chicago where he is responsible for the development and leadership of all member service areas including retail sales and service, consumer and mortgage lending, branch and telecenter operations, business development, sponsor relations and marketing.
Weidner joined Alliant in 1994 as the chief financial officer and director of finance and administration and previously held positions with US FCU in Minnesota and with the national accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen.
Parish, who has been at Wings Financial for 20 years, announced his retirement in May. He was at the helm when the credit union initiated what many considered to be the first hostile takeover attempt of a credit union, Continental Federal Credit Union.
“Frank is a great choice for our next leader,” said Parish. “The board looked at an extremely talented applicant pool from across the country and within the organization and made an excellent decision. I‘m pleased to add my voice to those welcoming Frank and I look forward to watching the credit union reach new heights in the years to come.”
Today’s announcement caps a succession planning process that has been under way since mid-year 2010, according to Wings Financial. The process began with an initial review of more than 100 candidates and narrowed to the final consideration of several applicants.
“The board is excited to welcome Frank aboard,” said Michael Cooper, chairman of Wings Financial’s board of directors. “He is steeped in the credit union culture and its focus on members. He understands the importance of customer service and shares our belief that it is the key to our continued success. He knows the airline industry and Minnesota and he knows what it takes to grow Wings to the next level.”
Weidner said he is looking forward to his new role.
“The credit union is in a great place in terms of its stability and financial strength and it is well-positioned for its next stage of growth and success. It’s a pleasure to join the team at Wings and to contribute my efforts to achieving that success,” Weidner said.
Weidner is the second senior Alliant executive to be promoted to a top job in recent days. Rudy Pereira, senior vice president of operations and information technology, will become CEO at the $1.2 billion Royal CU in Eau Claire, Wis., on Dec. 5.
Founded in 1938 to serve Northwest Airlines employees, Wings Financial has more than 200,000 members and had expanded its field of membership to the 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area as well as air transportation employees nationwide.
