MADISON, Wis. – Credit union veteran Pete Crear only got to beretired for about six months before he was picked by the WorldCouncil of Credit Unions as its new president/CEO. Crear succeededArthur Arnold who left WOCCU in January after leading WOCCU forfive years. Dr. Brian Branch served as interim president in theintervening six months before Crear's name was announced. A 40-yearveteran of the credit union industry, Crear's credit union careerhas included working at CUNA first as senior vice president ofassociation services, then as the association's chief operatingofficer responsible for overseeing the daily operations of CUNA& Affiliates' offices in Madison. He was also responsible forcredit union development including the Development EducatorsProgram and the National Credit Union Foundation. More recently hewas CUNA's executive vice president external affairs. Prior tocoming to CUNA Crear worked at various credit union leaguesincluding serving as president/CEO of the Indiana Credit UnionLeague and the Connecticut Credit Union League. He also worked asat the Michigan Credit Union League and with the AmericanAssociation of Credit Union Leagues. About eight months after beingnamed president/CEO of WOCCU, Crear spoke at the organization'sannual conference in Rome and told the audience of internationalcredit union representatives that his focus would be on buildingcredit union membership worldwide.