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In May 1978, a 19-year-old John Deese began his career at the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Guardians Credit Union as its manager. Soon after, while attending college, Deese was named Guardian's president/CEO. Forty-four years later, on Dec. 31, 2022, Deese stepped down to begin his new life in retirement.
In a statement on Wednesday from Guardians ($303 million in assets, 35,909 members) announcing Desse's retirement, the credit union said it is actively searching for its next leader.
During his tenure as president/CEO, Deese grew the credit union's assets from $1 million to its current asset size of more than $300 million. Most notably, according to Wednesday's statement, Deese led the credit union in the development of new products and services, as well as helping the credit union become "a pioneer in the State of Florida for banking cannabis businesses as Safe Harbor Florida a division within Guardians Credit Union."
John Deese Deese also served as a board member for CUNA and the National Credit Union Foundation, as well as a board member, treasurer, vice chairman and chairman of the Florida Credit Union League. He was an active supporter and contributor to the World Council of Credit Unions and Inclusiv, as well as locally for the Palm Beach Chapter of Credit Unions where he served as president and treasurer. "And, as a strong political advocate, he proudly served on the credit union's Governmental Affairs Committee for nearly his whole career, spending much of his time meeting with local, state and national politicians, lobbying on behalf of credit unions," according to Guardian's statement.
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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.
