Michigan's Community Financial Credit Union Appoints New CEO

Tansley Stearns will become president/CEO of Community Financial Credit Union in Plymouth, Mich., in June, the board of directors said Tuesday.

She will succeed Bill Lawton, who announced his plans to retire last December.

Bill Lawton joined the credit union in 1982 when his father, George Lawton, served as general manager of Community Financial.

During Lawton’s CEO tenure that began in 2004, Community Financial’s assets grew from $300 million to its current $1.2 billion, while membership expanded from 36,000 to more than 84,000, according to NCUA Call Reports.

“We know Tansley will share an exciting future with us as she leads our credit union to build on our past successes,” Community Financial Board Chair Don Bain said in a prepared statement. “We are all very much looking forward to working with her to make Community Financial Credit Union even more successful in serving our members and communities in the future.”

Over a 24-year credit union career, Stearns has held key leadership positions at credit unions and the Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis.

Most recently, she served as the COO at the $3.8 billion Canvas Credit Union, where she helped transform the credit union’s brand from Public Service Credit Union. She joined the Lone Tree, Colo.-based credit union in 2018 and also served as its chief marketing, strategy and people officer.

In addition, she previously held executive positions at Bethpage Federal Credit Union ($11.5 billion, Bethpage, N.Y.), Connex Credit Union ($868 million, North Haven, Conn.) and the now-acquired BestSource Credit Union, Stearns’ LinkedIn profile showed.

“Tansley comes to us with a wealth of leadership experience in the credit union movement,” Lawton said in a prepared statement. “Her energy and passion for our members, communities and team will ensure our best years are still to come.”

Community Financial’s 313 employees operate 13 branches.