MADISON, Wis.—The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has named Paul Treinen as its permanent president and CEO.
Treinen has been serving on an interim basis since April of this year after Elissa McCarter Laborde resigned amidst financial turmoil facing the organization following the termination of USAID’s international development funding. The ending of the USAID funding by the Trump administration led to WOCCU laying off half its staff and freezing numerous international projects.
Treinen originally retired from WOCCU in 2023, following a seven-year career as chief operating officer and executive vice president, before agreeing to come back as interim President and CEO.
‘Inspired Thousands’
WOCCU said in announcing Treinen had been named to the role permanently that he has “worked with the board to establish a new strategy that emphasizes core trade association activities such as international advocacy and member engagement.”
WOCCU further said that in July Treinen had “inspired thousands of global credit union professionals with a forward-looking State of the Movement Address at the 2025 World Credit Union Conference in Stockholm, Sweden,” as the CU Daily reported here.
In those remarks, Treinen talked of how he had dreamed of someday working for WOCCU when he had been younger. He told the meeting, ““The world needs more of what we do and more of how we do it.”
“The board had already begun the formal process of conducting a thorough search for a new leader,” Michael Lawrence, WOCCU Board Chair and CEO of the Customer Owned Banking Association (Australia), said in a statement. “But seeing the way Paul was so proactive in helping us create a new three-year strategy for the organization; how he presented such a positive view of WOCCU’s future at WCUC 2025; and, perhaps most importantly, the positive feedback we got from staff about his leadership skills—all made us realize we didn’t need to look any further for our next president and CEO.”
A ’Great Honor’
“This is a great honor. I see so much potential for World Council of Credit Unions to help our members achieve greater regulatory certainty with our continued emphasis on international advocacy, while at the same time providing our membership with next level member services, education and engagement opportunities,” Treinen said in a statement. “Our strategy is focused on creating a value proposition that supports the continued growth and success of credit unions and financial cooperatives around the world and then delivering on that promise. Working hand in hand with Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, we are committed to bringing year-round opportunities to respond to the varying needs our membership.”
‘More Unified Enterprise’
Added Mike Reuter, president of Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, in a statement, “From day one, Paul and I have been in lock step on creating a more unified WOCCU enterprise that allows our entities to come together and offer credit unions a world-class engagement experience with multiple touchpoints on a journey. I look forward to building that out in the months and years to come.”
Treinen in September will make his own first engagement visit as WOCCU President and CEO to Manila, Philippines, for the Asian Credit Union CEO Workshop, hosted by the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, WOCCU reported.
