Official flag of the State of Louisiana. (Source: Shutterstock)
Earlier last year, the Louisiana Credit Union League's board of directors announced Matt Rookard as its next president/CEO. He began his new role on May 2 and sometime in the first half of December he was gone after the board decided to part ways with him.
CU Times reached out to LCUL SVP Lacey Weaver on Wednesday. In an email, Weaver confirmed that Rookard was no longer at the League and current LCUL EVP of Business Solutions Steven Liberto has been named interim president/CEO.
"Yes, the LCUL board collectively decided to go in a different strategic direction and are conducting an expediated [sic] search with D. Hilton to fill the role," Weaver stated. "In the meantime, Steven, who has been our EVP since 2017, is serving as interim president/CEO. We have made it a top priority to keep our member credit unions updated throughout this transitional period and will provide additional information publicly once the search is successfully completed."
Steven Liberto According to Weaver, the board met with Rookard in late October for a strategic planning session. After the meeting, it was decided by board members to discuss parting ways with the new CEO.
"What he envisioned and what the board envisioned was different," Weaver said.
CU Times reached out to Rookard for comment, but has not received a reply as of this publication. Rookard's LinkedIn profile currently states, "Open for opportunities."
Rookard previously served as SVP of business development at Greater New Orleans, Inc. and as a project manager at Louisiana Economic Development.
The announcement last April of Rookard being selected as president/CEO of the League came after Bob Gallman announced his retirement. Gallman had been president/CEO of the League since 2018 and had worked in the credit union industry for nearly 40 years.
The D. Hilton Associates, Inc. website has the League's president/CEO position listed and was posted to its LinkedIn page five days ago.
Weaver said four of the 20 LCUL board members have formed a search committee "and will start narrowing it down fairly soon."
LCUL represents 154 member credit unions throughout Louisiana.
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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.
