Replacing a 40-year veteran who, after all, just had theheadquarters building named after him, could seem daunting, butCarla Altepeter knows something about staying power.

The lifelong credit union veteran takes over as president/CEO ofthe $1.1 billion Numerica Credit Union in Spokane, Valley, Wash.,on Sept. 1, succeeding Dennis Cutter.

Altepeter has held the top job at CitizensFirst CU in Oshkosh,Wis., for 19 years, overseeing a name change as the credit unionexpanded its community reach, added six branches and grew from $91million in 1992 to today’s $351 million in assets and 28,600members.

“CitizensFirst went from a relatively unknown financialinstitution to being top-of-mind, with a 35% market share in ourprimary market. I’m looking forward to building Numerica in similardirections,” Altepeter said.

The work is well under way. “Numerica is an outstanding creditunion with many similarities to Citizens First,” Altepeter said.“It has strong board governance, a community charter and a fullline of financial products and services, including member businessloans.”

“Numerica also has benefitted from the stability provided by anexcellent, long-standing CEO, and an equally strong leadershipteam. He’s prepared the organization well for his retirement.”

Leading a “really big credit union” has been a career goal forAltepeter for a long time, she said, “and an analogy that comes tomind is that of a relay race. Dennis has run the last, 40-year legof the race hard and well and has left the Numerica team in verygood shape.”

As she takes the baton, Cutter has set the mark for hissuccessor in other ways, too, for instance, spending one of hislast days on the job driving around to area nonprofits anddistributing $5,000 donation checks. Altepeter said she, too, iscommitted to community and industry service.

“Numerica is a community credit union and, in my opinion, hasthe duty and privilege to give back to the communities that weserve,” she said. “It has been my experience while at CitizensFirstthat being involved in community service activities helped buildpositive relationships. As I begin at Numerica, we will bedeveloping plans for active involvement in our communities on thepart of my team and me.”

The new Numerica CEO said she also plans tocontinue her active involvement in the industry at regional andstate levels, including continuing to serve on the national CUESboard through the completion of her final term in 2012. (She wasactive in foundation work in Wisconsin and is a CUES Hall of Famemember.)

“It’s also been my experience that involvement in variousindustry roles–locally, regionally and nationally–has helped keepCitizensFirst’s leadership team at the forefront of industrytrends,” Altepeter said. “This has allowed the credit union to bemore aware of emerging risks and challenges the industryfaces.”

Indeed, a big part of her new job will be taking on those risksand challenges. “For Numerica, as with most credit unions, thegreatest challenges at this time are the ever-changing regulatoryenvironment and the competitive landscape,” Altepeter said. “We’llwork hard to ensure that Numerica has a strong risk and compliancefunction that responds promptly and prudently to regulatory changesas they emerge.”

She added, “Regarding the ever-changing competitive landscape,it’ll be necessary to get a detailed understanding of theparticular factors in this market, as well as stay abreast ofrelevant macro factors. Within a reasonable timeframe, we’ll beworking to put together a plan that will enable Numerica tocontinue to compete effectively.”

Altepeter said strategies might include changes in branchplacement, product and service focus, brand differentiation andtargeted marketing. “Probably most importantly, we’ll work to builda strong, engaged and agile team,” she said.

Her new job marks a return to the West Coast. Altepeter beganher career in credit unions at the age of 17 as a part-time tellerand joined CitizensFirst (then Wisconsin Axle Credit Union) afterserving as vice president of credit of Rockwell FCU (now FinancialPartners CU) in Downey, Calif., where she directed the lending andATM operations. Her first management work was earlier at LockheedFCU in Burbank.

And along with joining a new team in Washington state, she has ahome team of her own. “My husband, Tom, has worked as a pastor anda psychologist and is very supportive of this move,” she said.“We’re excited about the possibilities that are in store forus.”

They also have four adult children living in four differentstates. “We don’t get to see them as much as we would prefer andthey all have mixed emotions about our move,” Altepeter said. “Onthe one hand they’re proud of me and excited for us, but on theother, we all know that getting everyone together may be a bit morechallenging now.”

She said they’re all looking forward to visiting their parents’new home, “and staying in touch in other ways, such as Skype. Whoknows, after they experience the beautiful Pacific Northwest,perhaps they’ll decide to relocate to be closer to us!”

And back at the office, she said, “My goals are to get to knowthe Numerica team and the board, understand the inner workings ofthe organization, and together, figure out what needs to be done tomove Numerica to the next level.”

"It’s a great organization now, and we’ll become evengreater.”