With his son recently heading off to college, Kyle Markland made the decision to resign from Affinity PlusFederal Credit Union on Wednesday to “take a step back and see whathe wants to do now.”

Markland, president/CEO of the $1.6 billion Affinity Plus in St.Paul, Minn., stepped down from the president/CEO post after 16years of service.

Related:
Affinity Plus CEO Kyle MarklandResigns
AffinityPlus FCU's Numbers Solid

David Larson, who was named interim president/CEO by the board,told Credit Union Times Friday morning that Markland senta letter out to the credit union's employees on Wednesdayexpressing his reasons for resigning.

“He talked about what he plans to do in the future,” Larsonsaid. “His son Andrew just went off to college. Both of his kidsare now in college. For the first time, Kyle and his wife will beempty nesters. He said he wanted to take some time, step back andtake a sabbatical.”

Larson said Markland's letter to employees, which was sentwithin a letter from Affinity Plus's Board Chairperson ConnieRoehrich, was only meant for the credit union's employees and wouldnot be released externally.

Attempts to reach Markland have so far been unsuccessful.

Larson acknowledged he was caught off guard when he heard thatMarkland would be resigning.

“Yes, I was surprised to hear that Kyle was leaving. I've workedwith him for 12 years.”

With his unexpected, new role, Larson said he is ready to takeon the interim position.

“I've been a senior vice president since 2007 and I've had a lotof exposure within our organization,” Larson said. “There's a greatrapport with the leadership team.”

Larson said Affinity Plus will do a national search as well aslook internally within the credit union's ranks. The board ishoping to have the search completed by the end of the year or early2014 but that deadline is not set in stone, he added.

“We are a credit union in the truest sense of those words. Ourmembers will not see anything different” as a result of theleadership change.

Markland was 33 years old when he took the helm of Affinity Plusin December 1997. When Credit Union Times interviewed himlast year upon receiving the publication's 2012 Trailblazer CEO of the Year award, he said the board tooka chance on hiring someone so young of what was then a $357 millionfinancial institution.

During his tenure, membership grew from 70,000 to more than167,000 members and assets hit $2.8 billion as of March 2012. Hewas a staunch critic of the Durbin Amendment that capped fees onmost debit card swipes and voiced his concerns in a comment letterto Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

Markland touted the credit union's strong loan programsincluding mortgages which topped the $725 million mark in 2011 at atime when other credit unions were struggling to build theirportfolios, he said last year.

Affinity's Plus “Ditch Your Bank” campaign started well beforeBank Transfer Day in November 2011, he noted. The campaigncontinues to this date, according to the credit union'swebsite.

Meanwhile, this is the second senior management resignation fromAffinity Plus in recent weeks. Liz Hayes, chief administrative officer, gave her notice onJuly 17 and resigned at the end of July.

Hayes had served at the credit union for 15 years. She told alocal publication that she wanted to focus on her master'sthesis and spend time with her daughter, who was planning to attendcollege overseas this year.

Larson said the resignation of Hayes and Markland are notrelated.