Tom Liebe, senior vice president of advocacy for the Wisconsin Credit Union League, was named the new president/CEO of Cooperative Network in Madison, Wis. Monday.

Cooperative Network is the nation’s largest all-cooperative network and serves more than 400 Minnesota and Wisconsin member organizations, including credit unions and organizations from the agriculture, electric, senior housing, telecommunications and mutual insurance industries. The Wisconsin Credit Union League in Pewaukee and the Minnesota Credit Union Network in St. Paul are members of the Cooperative Network.

Liebe will replace Bill Oemichen, who retired from the post earlier this month.

During his tenure at the Wisconsin league, Liebe was instrumental in developing an activist program of grassroots credit union lobbyists that successfully advocated for pro-credit union legislation and rules.

Prior to joining the league 11 years ago, Liebe worked at Broydrick and Associates, the largest lobbying firm in Wisconsin, and served as a legislative liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He also spent five years as a legislative and research assistant in the Wisconsin legislature, where he worked with rural legislators and served as clerk of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

“Cooperative Network has undergone significant transformation over the past decade, and we are looking forward to this new phase with Tom on board,” Curt Eischens, Cooperative Network board chair, said in a prepared statement. “As demonstrated through his work on key initiatives with the Wisconsin Credit Union League and in partnering with him on credit union-related advocacy, we see a drive and ambition in Tom to re-energize our association and to positively lead it into the future.”

Liebe’s first day as president/CEO will be Nov. 9 at the Cooperative Network’s annual meeting in Bloomington, Minn.

“It’s clear that cooperatives across Minnesota and Wisconsin provide tremendous value and service to their millions of members every day,” Liebe said. “I am honored to lead Cooperative Network and to partner with them to build and maintain effective, creative and efficient advocacy and awareness programs in both legislatures as well as the general public.”

Cooperative Network offers members services in government relations, education and marketing, as well as technical services in farm supply, health, dairy marketing, consumer, financial, livestock marketing, telecommunications, electric, housing, insurance and worker-owned cooperatives.