Department of Commerce FCU’s Leader Evan Clark Retires
Clark has been part of the credit union movement for 40 years.
After four decades of service in the credit union industry and 19 years as President/CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union (DOCFCU), Evan Clark announced Monday that he has retired.
According to a statement from the DOCFCU, Clark’s successor has been named. Patrick Collins, the credit union’s chief financial officer, will take over as president/CEO on June 6.
In a prepared statement, Clark said, “I am so proud of what we have done at the Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union over the past 19 years. We have grown from $123 million in assets to $835 million in assets. We’ve done this by focusing on two things: great rates on certificates for our members and making sure that the credit union is a great place to work.”
In Monday’s announcement, DOCFCU said Clark plans on pursuing a number of things during his retirement, including genealogy research, writing, smoking ribs, judging barbecue competitions and travel.
DOCFCU’s Chairman of the Board Brian DiGiacomo said, “Every member of the DOCFCU Board of Directors will miss Evan Clark’s leadership and acute insight into providing best-in-class service to our members. Evan provided us with the ability to grow the organization beyond imagination and provided the Credit Union staff with a great place to build relationships and advance their professional careers and life skills. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude and count on him as a life-long friend of the DOCFCU family.”
As to the appointment of Collins as the credit union’s next leader, DiGiacomo added, “We are most fortunate to have found a successor with the same inner drive, vision, and expertise in Patrick Collins. We experienced Pat’s excellent brand of decision-making and leadership over these past eight years as our CFO. He is well-respected in the credit union community, has impeccable credentials, and the staff look to him to continue our promising financial growth and member service trajectories. We have no doubt Pat will succeed in leading the DOCFCU to new heights, and the Board is pleased to keep him on the management team.”
In a statement Monday, Collins said, “I’m honored, and I’m grateful to the board for the opportunity to lead this exceptional organization of creative, dedicated and talented professionals. I also want to thank Evan for his leadership and mentorship. Evan’s guidance and support have played a pivotal role in shaping my career and have enabled me to assume this new role with confidence. I understand what has made us successful over the years and I want to continue to make the CU a great place to work.”
Besides his work as CFO, Collins formerly worked as an NCUA examiner.