Credit: Olivier Le Moal / AdobeStock
Jeff Olson resigned as president/CEO of the Dakota Credit Union Association on Wednesday, the board of directors said.
The board has appointed George McDonald as interim president/CEO of the Dakota Credit Union Association (DakCU). He has been serving as SVP/chief officer of partnerships and engagement since last year. He joined DakCU in 2016 as director of multimedia services and was named chief officer of strategic services in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page.
“He is a respected member of the DakCU leadership team, and the Board is confident in his ability to guide the association through this transition period,” the board said in a prepared statement.
The board did not disclose the reason for Olson’s resignation. Olson did not respond to a CU Times request for comment.
“We want to thank Jeff for his years of service and leadership on behalf of DakCU and the credit union movement across the Dakotas. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Lacey Fetsch, DakCU Board Chair and president/CEO of the $44.9 million University Federal Credit Union in Grand Forks, N.D.
Olson joined the credit union movement in 2008 when he became DakCU’s EVP of government affairs at DakCU. He was appointed CEO of the industry group in 2015.
During his tenure, Olson criticized the NCUA for not returning millions of dollars in recovered assets to North Dakota credit unions after the dissolution of the Midwest Corporate Federal Credit Union following the financial crisis. In 2023, those credit unions sued the NCUA. After a federal judge denied the agency’s motion to dismiss the case, the NCUA agreed to an $11.9 million settlement.
Olson also made headlines for holding DakCU’s annual convention in person in October 2020 in South Dakota, despite both Dakotas being COVID-19 hotspots at the time.
A comprehensive national search for the next DakCU president/CEO will be conducted with executive search firm D. Hilton Associates.
All association programs, activities and events will continue as planned, the board said.
“The DakCU Board looks forward to partnering with D. Hilton to find the next DakCU President/CEO,” Fetsch said. “We are committed to supporting the employees of DakCU during this transition period.”
DakCU’s six employees serve 29 credit unions in North Dakota and 33 credit unions in South Dakota.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.