PASADENA, Calif. — New WesCorp Board Member Adam Denbo says he'll bring small credit union representation to the corporate, which previously only had board members from large institutions.
Denbo, CEO of $23 million California Agribusiness Credit Union, won the only open position available on the nation's largest corporate board. His election was announced May 21 at WesCorp's annual meeting at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena.
"The reason I won the position was due to the overwhelming support of Shapiro credit unions," Denbo said, referring to the California Credit Union League designation of credit unions $35 million or smaller.
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Although one-third of all WesCorp member credit unions count fewer than $35 million in assets, there were no board members from a credit union of that size, Denbo said.
"All credit unions, I think, would love to have a great sampling of their membership on the board, so they could throw out ideas and be sure they relate to their membership," Denbo said.
The new board member said he's noticed the corporate devoting more resources to developing products and services that benefit small credit unions, and as WesCorp continues to expand nationwide, the perspective of small institutions is more important than ever.
Denbo said he doesn't think WesCorp ever intended to field a board skewed toward the $100 million-and-up set. Instead, he thinks small credit union managers lack the support staff to meet board time demands, and simply don't have time to run or serve.
"I am fortunate enough to have two strong operational managers and an excellent staff who can run this credit union without me being here. That's why I can give time to the credit union movement," Denbo said.
The father of five has had a busy year so far, welcoming youngest daughter Brielle Nicole into the world on Easter Sunday, and submitting applications for two simultaneous mergers to the NCUA and DFI a couple weeks later.
Denbo said he received campaign support from some heavy hitters in the small credit union world, like CalCom FCU's John Hernandez, Desert Valleys FCU's Eric Bruen, Printing Industries CU's Rick Dockery and Antioch Schools CU's Rob Graeff.
Denbo has beat the small credit union drum since taking over at CalAg in May 2005. However, he began his career with some industry giants, working his way up through the ranks of Wescom and Orange County's Credit Union in Information Technology. While at OCCU, he was named the industry's first Chief Political Officer.
"Now that I'm running a small credit union, I can see how different they are from large ones. I can relate to both perspectives, so bringing me on board is kind of a safe choice. I guess you could consider me a moderate," he said with a laugh.
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