MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Bob Pacheco, longtime credit union leader and the first president/ general manager of Hughes Aircraft Employees Federal Credit Union-now Kinecta FCU-has died. Dubbed an "organizational pioneer" Pacheco also helped found NAFCU and served on it's first board of directors. "All of us at Kinecta are saddened by this loss," said Kinecta President/CEO Thomas R. Graham. "It was Bob who established our organizational and leadership structure that allowed the credit union to grow and move forward. He was also a leader in the national credit union movement." Pacheco first encountered the credit union in 1958 when he was an examiner for the Federal Bureau of Credit Unions. In his 30 years with the credit union, Pacheco established the first executive committee and helped the organization grow from $6 million in assets to $880 million. "The credit union industry is really not that old, as compared to other industries," said W. F. Broxterman, who succeeded Pacheco and served as President/CEO from 1989 to 1997. "When Bob started in the 1950s there were not very many full-time management people in credit union leadership. Bob pioneered that role, and he distinguished himself. He represented an early era of professional management of credit unions. Bob paved the way for me, for Tom Graham, and the professional leadership of the future."