ELGIN, Ill. – Lending Solutions, Inc. looked in-house for its new CEO, naming Lee Kolquist to the position, replacing Mark Johnson. Kolquist, 45, is relatively new to LSI, coming aboard in May of 2002 as Vice-President of Corporate Strategy after a 16-year career at Stewart Associates, Inc./CUNA Mutual Group. CUNA Mutual acquired Stewart Associates in 1998 and Kolquist served as President of the Stewart Associates Division of CUNA Mutual. While Kolquist has had a short tenure with LSI, he's no stranger to the principals of the company. Stewart and Associates, where Kolquist spent much of his career, was once owned by Mark Johnson and Phil Stewart. Those two gentlemen along with Rex Johnson (who currently serves as shareholder, director, and consultant to LSI) started LSI in 1995. Kolquist said he doesn't plan on deviating much from the path Johnson has taken LSI down. "We have similar management styles. We're very engaged on a day-to-day basis with our customers and our various departments of operation," said Kolquist. He noted that (Mark) Johnson plans on staying very active in the company and he will remain as chairman of the board. One thing Kolquist hopes to bring to LSI is more strategic alliances. "In the past couple of years the company's growth has been all from internal direct sales and marketing. In the years to come strategic alliances will play a key role. We're looking in the data processing area and at developing insurance relationships," said Kolquist. One such deal in the insurance arena is with Securian, a Minnesota Life affiliate. Securian has chosen LSI as its preferred provider of lending center services. LSI is a powerhouse in the credit union industry. It has a 150-seat call center that provides 24/7 lending support to over 400 credit unions. It primarily plays an overflow/afterhours lending support role for CUs, though some have completely outsourced their lending function to LSI. LSI processes about 30,000 applications a month. Its three main channels are the Internet, the phone and indirect lending. It uses its CU clients' underwriting criteria to approve or deny loans, and has instant approval capabilities. Newer businesses for LSI are its collections department, with 15 reps, and its mortgage lending department, with 22 reps. Each of these areas has approximately 30 CU clients. The privately-owned company will see a 15% increase in revenue this year, with revenues of close to $12 million, said Kolquist. He would not comment on annual net income. LSI employs 190 people. Stewart & Associates was Kolquist's first job involving credit unions. He joked that he came from a non-related business prior to Stewart. It was a business he didn't have much success with. "I tried to make a living playing golf." In other moves at LSI, Mike Karst was named as LSI's Vice-President of Systems and Technology. Karst also comes over from the Stewart Division of CUNA Mutual. Karst takes over for Dan Mathews, who will concentrate on his growing responsibilities as Vice-President of Operations and Mortgages, LSI said. [email protected]