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In 1982, A Flock of Seagulls had "I Ran" and Air Supply had "Even the Nights Are Better," while Plymouth, Mich.-based Community Financial Credit Union had William Lawton walk through its doors for the first time. Forty years later, the CEO Lawton announced his plans to retire in 2022.
According to a statement from Community Financial ($1.2 billion in assets, 82,856 members), Lawton worked his way through the technology side of the credit union before landing the CEO position, and has been a staple figure in the Plymouth area for decades. Lawton said he will retire next July.
In an email to staff, Lawton said, ""It is difficult to convey how grateful I am for your support during my tenure as the CEO of Community Financial. Together, we have changed lives for the better and made our communities even more vibrant places to work and live."
According to the credit union, Community Financial has grown from $300 million in assets in 2004 to over $1.2 billion in assets. The board has retained Humanidei + O'Rourke to lead the search for their next CEO.
"I have enjoyed no greater satisfaction in serving my credit union members than in serving during Bill Lawton's leadership," said Dan Herriman, Community Financial board member. "It's been inspiring to witness Bill's passion and knowledge. He has served in many leadership roles on boards and would blush if he knew how much he is revered as a thoughtful and compassionate leader. Thank you, Bill Lawton, for everything you did for Community Financial and its membership."
"I am looking forward to the personal time I will gain in retirement, knowing that I will miss the work and the people that mean so much to me," Lawton said. "However, I am confident that our credit union's best years are still yet to come."
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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.
