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Former CUNA President/CEO Ralph Swoboda died on Monday, according to a statement from CUNA.
Swoboda served as president/CEO of the credit union trade organization from February 1986 to December 1994. According to CUNA, before Swoboda led the organization, he served as the organization's general counsel from 1974 to 1987.
"Ralph spent more than four decades working for financial cooperatives across the globe in dozens of countries, a true ambassador who represented the best of what credit unions can do," CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said. "He was a strong champion for credit unions, particularly in the legal arena, and helped shape the movement into what it is today."
Ralph Swoboda According to Swoboda's LinkedIn page, after his time at CUNA, he continued his work in the credit union industry with organizations such as the Association of British Credit Unions, CUNA Mutual Group, Ralph Swoboda Consulting, Ltd. and CUFA Lending Analytics in Dublin, Ireland.
During his time at CUNA Mutual Group, he served as the head of international operations where he directed operations in 30 countries from China to the Caribbean. He also founded and later served as board chair of CUNA Mortgage Corporation, according to CUNA.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
