“I hand-selected the senior staff in place at Corporate America and have the very highest level of confidence in their abilities to lead the credit union to even greater successes in the future,” Bonds said.

Bonds joined CACU in 1998 and had been president/CEO for the past 11 years. He was the recipient of Credit Union Times' Trailblazer Award for 2011 CEO of the Year, largely based on his guidance of the $3.3 billion corporate throughout the financial crisis.

Under his leadership, CACU members lost no membership capital shares or paid-in capital, one of the few corporates to do so during the financial crisis.

Prior to CACU, Bonds was employed at the NCUA as an examiner for corporate credit unions and principal examiner for natural person credit unions. He is licensed as both a CPA and attorney in Alabama.

“Thomas will be missed by the members and employees of Corporate America, and his contributions toward the growth and success of the corporate cannot be overstated,” Buckley said. “We all join in wishing him success in his new ventures.”

Bonds was the subject of a documented feud with NCUA Office of Corporate Credit Unions Director Scott Hunt that involved supervisory issues at Corporate America.

The riff also involved the still-pending merger with Louisiana Corporate Credit Union, which was mentioned in documentation between CACU and the NCUA that detailed issues between Bonds and Hunt.

“The board recognizes this change in leadership may be unexpected news for some members; however, Corporate America like most organizations was prepared for a change in leadership with a management succession plan that has worked exceptionally well,” said Board Chairman Steve Nix.

Interim CEO Buckley joined Corporate America in 2010 as senior vice president of risk management. Before coming to CACU, he was corporate field supervisor for NCUA, where he worked for 25 years.

“The board has complete confidence in Dan,” Nix said. “In accordance with Corporate America's succession plan, Dan filled the role of acting CEO while Mr. Bonds was on personal leave. The transition to his leadership was seamless, and he'll serve in the interim position until the board selects a permanent president/CEO.”