New CEO announced Source: Shutterstock.

After 32 years in leadership positions at the San Jose, Calif.-based Meriwest Credit Union, Julie Kirsch is stepping down as president/CEO – a position she's held since 2013.

Kirsch announced her retirement Friday, as well as introduced the next president/CEO of the $2.2 billion credit union. According to the statement, Meriwest's current EVP and COO, Lisa Pesta, will take over from Kirsch.

Julie Kirsch Julie Kirsch

In a prepared statement, Kirsch said, "I feel incredibly honored that my predecessor and our board of directors gave me the encouragement and platform to pursue the many opportunities I felt passionate about. I am beyond confident that Meriwest's next CEO, Lisa Pesta, will lead Meriwest to even greater accomplishments and continue to enhance our member experience."

Lisa Pesta Lisa Pesta

Pesta said, "Under Julie's leadership, Meriwest's focus has always been on our members and employees. This has led to numerous awards for Meriwest, including 'Best Places to Work' and the 'Best Credit Union' in Silicon Valley. We are grateful for her guidance and support and look forward to building on her many achievements."

Under Kirsch's leadership, she led Meriwest through several credit union transitions including shifting the credit union from a single sponsor to a community-based credit union. That move also included rebranding efforts and a name change for the credit union.

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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.