New CEO LaBorde Becomes WOCCU's First Female Leader

The board of directors for the World Council of Credit Unions announced on Monday that Elissa McCarter LaBorde will be the new president/CEO of the organization. By its unanimous vote, the board made a historical decision by naming LaBorde as the first female to lead WOCCU.

According to the announcement, LaBorde has more than 20 years of experience leading organizations in delivering financial services to underserved communities around the world.

“Elissa went through a long selection process with the best results and was unanimously selected by the WOCCU Board of Directors,” WOCCU Board Chair Rafał Matusiak said.

LaBorde will take the reins from Brian Branch, who has served as WOCCU’s leader since 2011 and has been with the organization for 31 years. Branch announced his retirement in January of this year and will step down in July.

Since 2009, LaBorde has served as CEO of Vitas Group, a for-profit holding company she established under Global Communities, an international development and humanitarian aid organization that operates in 27 countries, the announcement said. Vitas Group has become the largest commercial retail microfinance operation in the Middle East. Over the last decade, its subsidiaries have disbursed over $3 billion at a less than 1% annual default rate to small business owners.

According to the statement from WOCCU, LaBorde has also served as Global Communities’ vice president of development finance for the past 16 years overseeing the non-profit organization’s strategy, investment and fundraising efforts, and thought leadership in financial inclusion. In that role, she is the principal liaison to the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (formerly OPIC) for loan guarantee facilities worth over $550 million, with commercial banks in Jordan, Egypt, Kenya and Malawi. She also participates in business development efforts with key U.S. and international donors.

“World Council of Credit Unions is a well-known and respected organization with massive reach and the potential to truly deliver next-generation financial products and services to last-mile customers all over the globe. I am honored to join its work in expanding the credit union footprint and its mission to improve the lives of its vast network of members, especially in lower-income and disadvantaged communities. The opportunity to lead and rethink how we scale financial services by leveraging technology and building on the trust that credit unions uniquely have in so many places is exciting,” LaBorde said.

LaBorde has lived and worked in five countries and traveled to over 70 countries around the world. In information provided by WOCCU, LaBorde has authored and published two books, as well as academic journals and essays that span a number of topics related to financial inclusion and economic development. For the past 10 years, she has served as an adjunct professor at John’s Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle had this to say about LaBorde’s new position: “Congratulations to Elissa for being named the next leader of the World Council of Credit Unions. Elisa is a proven leader in international development, and we are confident that her unique skillset will strengthen the global credit union movement. CUNA and our partners look forward to working with her as World Council continues to ensure the international success of not-for-profit financial cooperatives.”

According to WOCCU, LaBorde will start her new position in August.