Patriot Federal Credit Union in Pennsylvania names new CEO

Patriot Federal Credit Union in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania has tapped Ronald Celaschi as its next chief executive.

The $1 billion-asset credit union announced that Celaschi, who according to his LinkedIn profile is presently the president and CEO of the $1.8 billion-asset Clearview Federal Credit Union in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, will transition to his new leadership position on April 3. Celaschi succeeds Brad Warner, who took the helm in 2015 and announced his retirement plans last year.

"I want to take a moment to thank our board of directors for their many hours of hard work; but most importantly for an excellent selection. … Ron embraces the Servant Leadership philosophy and he is looking forward to beginning his new role at Patriot," Warner said in a press release.

Outside of his leadership roles, Celaschi is a member of the Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania board of directors, the board of trustees of the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC) — which is the federal political action committee of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) — and was previously on the membership committee of the CUNA Lending Council.

Credit unions

NCUA's proposed succession mandate draws concern of overreach

March 31, 2022 12:07 PM

In January 2022, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) advanced a proposed rule on succession planning that would require federal credit unions to implement and continually review the necessary procedures for appointing next-in-lines.

The legislation has been met with worries of overreach from industry experts at  the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Union and CUNA, with suggestions calling for the NCUA to bolster its suite of tools and other resources for drafting plans instead of instituting a formal rule. 

"In some instances, [succession planning] could be key to the continuation of a credit union, but I don't know if we can say that across the board," Luke Martone, senior director of advocacy and counsel for CUNA, said in a previous interview with American Banker. "Oftentimes, there are no issues with succession planning that lead to the eventual merger of a credit union … and sometimes that is the case."