Jim Nussle, former Iowa Republican congressman and director of the White House Office of Management and Budget for President George W. Bush, has been named the new president/CEO of CUNA, the trade group announced Sept. 9.
CUNA said Nussle, an eight-term congressman who served as chairman of the House Budget Committee, starts his new role in the next few weeks.
Nussle won the Iowa Republican primary for governor but lost the general election in 2006. He was also appointed OMB director in 2007 and served until 2009 when President Bush left office. He later founded a public affairs media and strategic consulting firm called The Nussle Group.
According to the Library of Congress, Nussle voted in favor of HR 1151, the Credit Union Membership Access Act of 1998, but is not listed as one of the 207 co-sponsors of the legislation. The bill passed the House in a 411-8 vote with 11 members not voting. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law on Aug. 7, 1998.
"I have witnessed first-hand the enthusiastic advocacy of the nation's nearly 7,000 credit unions and I look forward to working with them to ensure the credit union message and policy priorities are clearly understood in Washington and nationwide," Nussle said.
He added, "At a time when trustworthiness is at a premium, the individuals who make up the more than 100 million memberships at credit unions."
Former CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney left the trade association in June for the CEO job at the $10.3 billion SchoolsFirst Credit Union in Santa Ana, Calif. CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel served as interim president/CEO following Cheney's departure.
CUNA Chairman Dennis Pierce said after an exhaustive search, in which nearly 100 highly qualified candidates were considered, the CUNA Board unanimously accepted and certified the executive search committee's recommendation of Nussle as the trade group's next leader.
"We are thrilled to welcome Jim to CUNA and believe his experience at the highest levels of Congress and the federal executive branch, as well as his time in association leadership, positions him well to lead our association and represent our members," said Susan Streifel, chair of the CUNA Board's executive search committee and vice chair of the CUNA Board.
Iowa Credit Union League President/CEO Patrick S. Jury said, "As a former Iowa congressman, we've worked very closely with Jim over the years and know that his leadership, experience and desire to help improve the financial lives of consumers will help propel our industry forward."
NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger congratulated Nussle on his appointment, saying "We look forward to working with Jim as we continue to address those issues impacting the credit union industry," Berger said. "Jim's experience and insight will be a great foundation for his new position."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised CUNA's decision to pick Nussle for the job: "I think Jim Nussle is a terrific choice. He is very smart – very experienced. He will bring an integrity and an intelligence to the job and I can't imagine anybody who would do a better job of speaking out and explaining the unique pattern of credit unions and how they serve their members," Gingrich said.
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