Baxter Credit Union COO Jim Block will become the next president/CEO of the credit union, succeeding Michael G. Valentine who plans to retire in 2027, the board of directors announced last week.
Valentine joined the Vernon Hills, Ill.-based credit union in 1984 as its vice president of sales. By 1994, he was named president/CEO.
During Valentine's CEO tenure, Baxter Credit Union (BCU) increased assets from $306 million to its current assets of $6.3 billion, while loans grew from $245 million to $5.1 billion and membership expanded from 72,811 to more than 368,000, according to NCUA Call Reports.
Valentine credited much of that success to the person who gave him his start in credit unions, the late Rex Johnson, BCU's founding president/CEO. Valentine said he learned so much from Johnson, particularly his passion for lending.
"My family and I have been thinking about this for some time, and please know this has been a very mindful decision," Valentine said. "I've thoroughly enjoyed pouring energy into our leadership team to prepare them for this exact moment. BCU is ready for this change. And now I'll enjoy more time with my kids and grandkids, and most importantly the person who has been by my side throughout my career – my wife, Ellen."
Topping the list of Valentine's achievements include building relationships that have taken BCU from a single corporate sponsor with Baxter Healthcare, to being known as a leading financial well-being benefit partner for workplaces, associations and communities such as Target, Cardinal Health, UnitedHealth Group, GEICO, HCA Healthcare, the American Dental Association and many others.
Before he was named COO in 2019, Block served as chief lending officer. He joined BCU in 1995 as vice president of consumer lending. After working at another company for four years, he returned to BCU in 2004 as IT program manager and later served as vice president of lending and chief lending officer.
"My passion for delivering on our purpose of empowering people to discover financial freedom knows no bounds," Block said. "I look forward to supporting our employees, our members and our partners to bring even more value to our members and ensure BCU remains an extraordinary place to work."
Block will assume his role as president on July 1, 2026. He will report to Valentine until his retirement in 2027 when Block assumes the CEO's position as well.
"Our board is confident in the entire BCU team – particularly the executive leadership, which brings unmatched experience and a deep dedication to being there for our members' milestones, delivering products, services and caring support every step of the way," BCU Board Chair Mike Curran said.
BCU's 774 employees operate 43 locations and serve members who live in 16 states and Puerto Rico.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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