There's a new leader at Northwest Community Credit Union.

John Iglesias is now president/CEO of the $700 million Springfield, Ore., credit union.

Iglesias, who steps in following the recent retirement of CEO Helen Byrnes, was the former president/CEO for the $330 million Salal CU in Seattle. He has executive level experience with two of Washington state's largest credit unions – BECU and Washington State Employees CU.

“I'm very proud of the time I've spent in the credit union world but I've also worked on the bank side, too. These experiences have given me an appreciation for the unique opportunities our not-for-profit cooperative business structures provide to communities in the Northwest,” said Iglesias.

“Northwest Community has a proud history of focusing on member service.  By investing more in staff development and additional service outlets and channels, we have a real opportunity to extend the reach and impact of our financial cooperative,” he said.

Northwest Community had been planning to merge with the $148 million Mid Oregon CU but that was put on hold when Byrnes announced her retirement to care for her ailing husband.