Corporate Central CU Goes Homegrown for New CEO, Names Fouch to Top Job

HALES CORNER, Wis. – Corporate Central Credit Union’s eight-month search to fill the big shoes being left by CEO Mark Schroeder is over. In the end the corporate wound up finding its new CEO internally in Executive Vice President Bob Fouch. He will assume the position on July 1, while Schroeder officially retires on August 1, giving the corporate a one-month transition period in the corner office. Fouch, 53, has been with Corporate Central for approximately 14 years. Prior to this role, he spent 11 years as CEO of a community credit union in Millwaukee, at the time known as First Service CU. Before his credit union life started, he worked at a finance company doing commercial, real estate, and consumer loans. Schroeder said the two complemented each other well over the years in that Fouch had the operational knowledge and Schroeder knew the investment/asset liability management side of the business from his career in commercial banking. “He knows so much about that stuff (operations), it’s amazing. He’s a great guy to take the corporate into the future,” said Schroeder. Fouch said he plans to carry on the culture that’s already present at the corporate. “One of the things that is so nice about the operation here is we have a fantastic group of people working here, and they’ve been empowered to do what they need to do to best serve the members. It’s a culture I agree with. I don’t see that changing at all. Mark has a very open door policy, as do I,” said Fouch. Fouch is leading a corporate whose board a few years back set a clear goal of growth. Part of that vision, was adding membership. The corporate was involved in a bit of a territorial war with Mid-States when it opened up an office in Minnesota. Mid-States of course acquired Minnesota Corporate, so it didn’t’ take kindly to Corporate Central CU’s presence in Minnesota and in turn opened an office in Wisconsin, Corporate Central’s primary FOM. Competition is just part of doing business, said Fouch. “I don’t know if it’s unique to our region or not, but I’ve always felt competitive pressures ever since I’ve been here, whether it’s a community bank or another corporate. We’ve always responded well to competitive force.” In Minnesota, Fouch said Corporate Central’s correspondent services have been well-received. He noted that many Minnesota CUs were using the Fed for correspondent services, so Corporate Central stepped in to offer an alternative. He does hope to round out the corporate’s product mix. “We have to take a look at a lot of things, broker/dealer service, business lending, credit/debit cards. I don’t know what direction the board wants to go. The credit union demand for products and service is changing constantly and I think we have to be able to meet those demands,” he said. Fouch said Corporate Central will partner with other corporates where it makes sense. He noted successful partnerships with Mid-Atlantic Corporate for bill pay, and he views U.S. Central as an always present partner. Schroeder, 62, basically gave the corporate’s board one-year’s notice of his retirement. He said although his successor came from within, the board did an exhaustive national search. “The board really did more than just make this automatic. He had to fight for it like everybody else. They looked at some very, very strong, very good candidates. My goal always was to have a number two ready in case I got hit by a truck. It’s reassuring that the person that you worked with for so long has the qualities the board wanted. It’s a good move,” he said. Though Fouch has familiarity, it will take some work to fill his void in the EVP spot, said Schroeder. “When you bring in a new person, that’s just one person. When you move a number two up, that makes for a whole lot of opportunities in the organization. It’s a little more work then you expect. We hope everybody else sticks around. We now have a lot of back-filling to do,” said Schroeder. Schroeder, who is known as a very modest leader at the corporate and among his peers, has been with the corporate for 21 years, serving 13 of them as CEO. He firmly believes that this was his last job and he will retire for good. Credit Union Times will feature Schroeder in a retirement piece as his August 1 official departure date gets closer. [email protected]