BOULDER, Colo. — William Sterner, long leading industry figure on both the national and international scene and the president/CEO of Elevations Credit Union, died Monday following a heart attack suffered four days earlier.
Sterner, 66, who was stricken at a capital legislative meeting in Denver, was also the current chairman of the Credit Union Association of Colorado, its service corporation and previously was a top manager at CUNA, the California and Kansas Leagues and the World Council of Credit Unions.
"Bill Sterner embodied the credit union philosophy of 'people helping people' in his service to our entire credit union movement in Colorado and the national stature he brought to our state," declared John Dill, president/CEO of the Credit Union Association of Colorado.
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A former Peace Corps volunteer, Sterner, who also was a director at SunCorp CU and the Credit Union Service Network, started at Elevations in 1997 as vice president of marketing and was named CEO in 2000. Under his leadership, Elevations grew rapidly from $340 million to over $790 million with over 75,000 members and more recently took the CU formerly known as UofC FCU into the state system to add branching powers in growing Denver counties.
Elevations said it would name an interim CEO at a board meeting Thursday and in the meantime was operating with an acting CEO which it did not identify. The Colorado Association said in accord with its succession policy, Douglas Ferraro, its vice chairman and president/CEO of Bellco CU of Denver would move up to replace Sterner.
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