 |
| Larry Wilson joined the credit union in 1974 as the General Manager. He will retire at the end of June, and current EVP/COO Chuck Purvis will become CEO. |
Coastal Federal Credit Union announced today that President & CEO Larry Wilson will retire at the end of June, ending a 38-year tenure at the helm of the organization. Coastal’s board of directors has selected EVP/Chief Operating Officer Chuck Purvis to be Wilson’s successor, effective July 1, 2012.
Wilson joined the credit union – then named IBM Raleigh Employees Federal Credit Union - in 1974 as General Manager. At the time, the credit union had just three employees, $3.5 million in assets and served 3,900 local employees of IBM. Coastal has since grown to $2.0 billion in assets, with 400 employees and more than 190,000 members representing more than 1,200 organizations. Along the way, Wilson has been a staunch advocate for innovation. As a result, Coastal has often been at the forefront of the industry, and in 1996, became one of the first institutions in the world to offer online banking.
More recently, Coastal has been the leader in the implementation of seven-day-a-week service, capitalizing on centralized tellers and a video banking system that the credit union helped develop. Financially speaking, 2010 and 2011 were each record years for Coastal, and just last month Coastal was able to pay a $1.5 million special dividend to its membership.
“I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work with Larry over the past 38 years,” said Richard Bloom, Coastal’s Chairman. “His contributions to Coastal and to the industry can’t be quantified. He is, and forever will be, an icon in the credit union movement.”
Wilson’s influence spreads far beyond Coastal’s reaches. In his 40 years of working with credit unions, Wilson has garnered tremendous respect for himself and for the credit union, largely through his activity at the national level.
Wilson served on the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Advisory Committee from 1980-1982. He was appointed to the Federal Reserve Thrift Advisory Council for the 1995-1996 term. From 2002 to 2011, he served as the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Region III Director, and participated in several committees. In 2004, Wilson was elected to the Credit Union Direct Corporation board of directors. In March, 2008, he was appointed to serve on the Fannie Mae National Housing Advisory Council for a two-year term.
Wilson has been a member of CUNA Mutual Group’s board of directors since 1986, including a term as Chairman from 1997-1999.
He also previously served as National Director of the Credit Union National Association and sat on its Strategic Planning Committee. His other credit union credentials include serving on the board of directors of First Carolina Corporate Credit Union and as a Director and Vice Chairman of LICU Corporate Federal Credit Union.
A native of North Carolina, Wilson has also remained committed to fostering cooperation among credit unions in his home state. From 1974 to 2002, he was a member of the North Carolina Credit Union League board of directors. In 1992, he was named the Credit Union Person of the Year by the League and in 2000 was awarded the Mark of Excellence Award for sustained leadership.
Among the other honors Wilson has earned over his career:
- In 1985, he received the Professional of the Year Award by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).
- In 1991, NAFCU recognized his credit union as the Credit Union of the Year.
- In 1992, he was named Executive of the Year by the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) and was inducted into the CUES Hall of Fame in 1993.
“Larry’s career has been long and fruitful. While I’m sorry to see him retire, I certainly wish him well,” Bloom added. “Looking forward, I speak for the entire board in putting my faith and confidence in Chuck Purvis’ leadership as our incoming President & CEO.”
Purvis is an industry veteran with 30 years of experience. He has been part of Coastal’s management team since 2001, working closely with Wilson during that time. Wilson will continue to advise Purvis and Coastal’s board of directors through the remainder of 2012.