Veteran CIO to take over at Members Cooperative Credit Union

Members Cooperative Credit Union in Duluth, Minn., has named Steve Ewers as its new president and CEO.

Ewers replaces Tammy Heikkinen, who is retiring after serving as the $890 million-asset credit union’s president and CEO for 12 years. Ewers will take the helm at the end of November with Heikkinen staying on until then to help with the transition, the credit union said in a press release.

“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to lead such a prestigious organization and one for which I have a great deal of admiration. It’s an honor to be entrusted by the board, and I’m excited about serving Members Cooperative Credit Union’s membership and employees while fulfilling our greater vision and mission in the community,” Ewers said in the press release last week from the credit union.

Ewers has worked in the credit union industry for more than two decades. He most recently served as chief information officer for University & State Employees Credit Union in San Diego.

Before that, Ewers worked for University Federal Credit Union in Austin, Texas, Ent Credit Union in Colorado Springs, Colo., Wescom Credit Union in Pasadena, Calif., and Redwood Credit Union in Santa Rosa, Calif., in IT roles, according to D. Hilton Associates, which worked with Members Cooperative on its search for a new CEO.

Members Cooperative earned roughly $4 million through the first half of 2020, up almost 83% from the same period a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration. The credit union’s provision for loan losses fell 57%, to $689,000, from a year earlier while interest income ticked up more than 7%, to $15.9 million.