MADISON, Wis. – Credit union veteran Pete Crear only got to be retired for about six months before he was picked by the World Council of Credit Unions as its new president/CEO. Crear succeeded Arthur Arnold who left WOCCU in January after leading WOCCU for five years. Dr. Brian Branch served as interim president in the intervening six months before Crear's name was announced. A 40-year veteran of the credit union industry, Crear's credit union career has included working at CUNA first as senior vice president of association services, then as the association's chief operating officer responsible for overseeing the daily operations of CUNA & Affiliates' offices in Madison. He was also responsible for credit union development including the Development Educators Program and the National Credit Union Foundation. More recently he was CUNA's executive vice president external affairs. Prior to coming to CUNA Crear worked at various credit union leagues including serving as president/CEO of the Indiana Credit Union League and the Connecticut Credit Union League. He also worked as at the Michigan Credit Union League and with the American Association of Credit Union Leagues. About eight months after being named president/CEO of WOCCU, Crear spoke at the organization's annual conference in Rome and told the audience of international credit union representatives that his focus would be on building credit union membership worldwide.