Anne Cochran named chair of the World Council of Credit Unions

Anne Cochran, president and CEO of the Louisiana Credit Union League (LCUL) in the United States, has been named the first female chair of the World Council of Credit Unions‘ board of directors.

The World Council is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions, promoting the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial co-operatives to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services.

“My passion for the credit union movement in the past 15 years has helped me to represent the World Council in many arenas, from management certification programs to training at global conferences to working with universities in Ecuador, Moscow and Nairobi,” she told delegates at the World Council annual meeting, which took place during the World Credit Union Conference in Denver.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Ms Cochran became a member of a credit union, near a local church. Shortly after moving to the USA with her husband, her mother got ill and her mother-in-law borrowed money from a local credit union to buy her a ticket to Dublin.

“I think the credit union movement is in my DNA, ” she said.

Ms Cochran has spent nearly 20 years advancing the credit union movement at state, national and international levels. Under her leadership, LCUL attained its highest-ever affiliation ratio and has hosted delegations from developing credit unions in Africa and Russia to help strengthen their movements.

She has also served on CUNA’s World Affairs Committee and participates in the Global Women’s Leadership Network.

“My passion for the entire credit union movement knows no bounds,” she said. “I pledge to you to continue to grow that passion in my new role.”

Ms Cochran, who succeeds outgoing chair Grzegorz Bierecki, president and CEO of the National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit Unions of Poland, formally accepted the chair’s chain of office on Tuesday, 14 July.

The annual meeting also saw Mark Degotardi (CEO, Customer Owned Banking Association, Australia), Chul-sang Moon (chairman and president, National Credit Union Federation of Korea), Rafal Matusiak (president/CEO, National Association of Co-operative Savings & Credit Unions, Poland) and Jaime Chaves Suarez (CEO, Federación Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito Financieras, Colombia) elected as World Council directors.