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After more than two decades at the Littleton, Mass.-based Workers Credit Union, President/CEO Doug Petersen announced his retirement on Thursday. According to a statement from the credit union, its board of directors selected Jay Champion to take over as interim president/CEO.
According to details from Workers ($2.6 billion in assets, 124,257 members), Petersen began his career at the credit union in 1995 and has grown its asset size to be one of the largest in Massachusetts. Petersen will officially step down on July 14.
Workers Board Chair Mary Heafy said, "We'd like to thank Doug for his 27 years of service to Workers. We wish him a happy retirement and appreciate his long-term commitment to the credit union movement."
Jay Champion Champion will begin his position as interim president/CEO on July 18 as board members search for a permanent replacement.
It was announced that Champion had resigned on May 10 as CEO of the Denver-based Westerra Credit Union ($2.1 billion in assets, 117,300 members) after serving in that position since October 2018.
According to a statement from Workers, the leadership development and executive recruitment firm DDJ Myers helped in the process of selecting Champion to the interim position.
"Workers is firmly focused on empowering members to achieve financial wellness and we're confident in Jay's ability to provide the leadership needed to continue fulfilling this mission," Heafy said. "As a seasoned financial institution leader, Jay understands the industry and has the skills needed to maintain our team's delivery of top-notch member service."
Champion said of the new position, "I'm excited to lead an organization with a 114-year legacy of service and a core purpose of improving the daily lives of our members. This purpose truly resonates with me, and I believe we can make an even bigger impact on the communities Workers serves."
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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.
