Cobalt promotes insider to take over for retiring CEO

Robin Larsen has been named the next president and CEO of Cobalt Federal Credit Union in Papillion, Neb., effective Jan. 11.

Larsen will succeed Gail DeBoer, who has been the $1.1 billion-asset institution's president and CEO since 2007, Cobalt said in a press release Wednesday.

DeBoer in October announced her plans to step down.

Larsen began her career at Cobalt in 1988 and was most recently its chief operations officer. During her tenure, she has served in various roles, including operations training officer and branch manager.

“The board is excited to have Robin lead the credit union into the future,” said Dr. Julia Cronin-Gilmore, Cobalt's chairperson. “Her background is ideal to guide Cobalt through the ever-changing landscape facing financial institutions today.”

The credit union in April announced plans to switch from an Iowa state charter to a federal charter. Since converting back to a federal charter, Cobalt's headquarters has returned to Nebraska, where the bulk of its membership is based, after one year being based in Iowa.

Cobalt earned roughly $347,000 in the first three quarters of 2020, down about 94% from the $5.6 million it earned for the same period in the prior year, according to call report data from NCUA. The decline was driven in part by a 31% surge in charge-offs and a 23% increase in allowance for loan losses.