Having served for years on the board of the National Credit Union Foundation, Stan Hollen has plenty of experience with doling out the annual Herb Wegner Memorial Awards. Less familiar, however, is the feeling of being on the receiving end.
Hollen, who retired last year as president and CEO of CO-OP Financial Services, is set to receive this year’s award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.
“Since I was on the Foundation board for seven years, I have been involved in the process. It is a nice honor,” he said. “All of the recipients have been deserving, and I think there are a lot of folks that are as deserving as me.”
According to Hollen, a Wegner is not a personal honor. “A lot of people and a lot of good boards are represented in winning this award. It is special that I am the first head of a CUSO to win, although I was CEO of a large credit union [The Golden 1 CU in Sacramento, Calif.]. The closer we get, the more it is sinking in.”
Hollen’s award will be one of three Herb Wegner Memorial Awards presented at a dinner hosted by the Foundation at the Marriott Marquis Washington on Feb. 27, in conjunction with the Credit Union National Association’s 2017 Governmental Affairs Conference in D.C.
The Foundation said the honor for Hollen was, “In recognition of his illustrious career as a credit union leader, one defined by bold risks, deep generosity and resolute adherence to the core values of the movement.”
Hollen told Credit Union Journal winning a Wegner Award means a lot to him, even if it means he has to wear a tuxedo.
“I thought I had attended my last GAC, but this makes one more. I have to wear a tux, and I haven’t worn a tux in 20 years,” he said with a laugh. “My wife will be there and three of my five children will be there, so it will be special.”
An illustrious career
Hollen has filled a wide variety of leadership roles throughout his career, from serving on his credit union’s board of directors at age 19 to becoming president and CEO of CO-OP Financial Services, the nation’s largest credit union service organization, in 2005. During his tenure at CO-OP, Hollen pursued a range of innovative business initiatives and strategies that are credited with significantly increasing the company’s ability to improve the financial lives of credit union members.
While building CO-OP as a payments and networked-services company for the credit union movement, some of Hollen’s most notable achievements include enhancing CO-OP’s ATM and debit network with new features, including shared branching, call center services and mobile banking; spearheading the acquisition of Everlink Payment Services, Inc.; and, launching a partnership with The Members Group to enhance CO-OP’s credit processing capacities.
Hollen retired from CO-OP in July, but will continue to serve the company as a strategic consultant. At the time of his departure, the company had expanded its shared branching network to more than 5,400 locations and had built up more than 30,000 ATMs.
“I don’t think anyone in the industry would be surprised to see Stan as a Wegner Award recipient,” John Gregoire, chair of the Foundation’s Wegner Awards Selection Committee and president of The ProCon Group, said in a statement. “His resume, contributions, and impact on the movement are well known, including the impressive list of CEOs who have followed in his footsteps at The Golden 1.”
“Stan is a catalyst of change,” said Diana Dykstra, president and CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues. “He has never been satisfied with status quo and pushes himself and others around him to continually enhance and develop new ways to serve and enhance the lives of members.”
For Hollen, strengthening the credit union movement includes strengthening credit union professionals. In this area, his most notable work has been mentoring burgeoning credit union leaders by bringing them onto his executive team and providing them with meaningful experience in high-level management and operations.
Sixteen of Hollen’s former apprentices have gone on to become CEOs in their own right—reportedly more than any other mentor in the credit union movement.
Hollen also has been widely lauded for placing women in prominent leadership positions, earning the Athena Leadership Award for his progressive appointments and his support of the Global Women Leadership Network.
Travel, Fishing, Grandchildren
These days, Hollen said he spends his time “doing some fishing [and] some travel” and generally enjoying retirement.
He and his wife, a retired United Airlines employee, live about 35 miles from Tampa, Fla., but travel often to visit family in California, as well as Illinois, where the couple grew up.
“I am still involved in a couple of boards. I am doing just about the right amount of involvement with Incenta and Investment Trust for Credit Unions,” he said
Even though he’s officially retired from the credit union movement, he still has the same focus on people.
“I don’t miss the work, but I miss the people. I imagine that is what happens to a lot of people when they retire,” Hollen said. “In my job I traveled a lot, and made a lot of friends. I sold my California home, so I don’t see a lot of the folks I used to see.”
