Press

Anne Cochran named World Council’s first-ever female chair at 2015 World Credit Union Conference

World Council presents new members and awards at annual general meeting

DENVER, CO (July 14, 2015) — Anne Cochran, president and CEO of the Louisiana Credit Union League (LCUL) in the United States, has been named the first female chair of World Council of Credit Unions’ board of directors. Cochran, who succeeded 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 during the World Credit Union Conference general session on Tuesday in Denver, USA.

“My passion for the credit union movement in the past 15 years has helped me to represent World Council in many arenas, from management certification programs to training at global conferences to working with universities in Ecuador, Moscow and Nairobi,” Cochran said.

Cochran, a native of Ireland, has played a key role for nearly two decades in 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 served on several credit union organization committees, such as CUNA’s World Affairs Committee. She has served for World Council in many capacities, including speaking at numerous credit union events worldwide and participating in the Global Women’s Leadership Network.

Chair, Anne Cochran, USA

  • First Vice Chair, Daniel Burns, Canada
  • Second Vice Chair, Patrick Jury, US
  • Treasurer, Manfred Dasenbrock, Brazil
  • Secretary, Brian McCrory, Ireland

World Council also recognized its new member organizations at the annual general meeting:

  • Direct member: National Credit Union Federation of Korea
  • Associate members: Association of Credit Unions in the Netherlands and Dutch Association of Cooperating Credit Unions
  • Affiliate members: African Confederation of Cooperative Savings & Credit Associations and Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions

World Council presented Outstanding Membership Growth Awards to the following member organizations in recognition of outstanding membership growth rates in 2014:

  • Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Co-operatives Ltd. (KUSCCO) of Kenya
  • Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) of Great Britain
  • Asociación de Instituciones Rurales de Ahorro y Crédito, Inc. (AIRAC) of the Dominican Republic

The World Credit Union Conference runs through 15 July. Follow conference activities, including daily event photos, on Facebook and Twitter using #CUinDenver2015.

2015-07-14-AGM1 2015-07-14-AGM2 2015-07-14-AGM3

Photo captions: Incoming World Council Chair Anne Cochran (left) receives the chain of office from outgoing Chair Grzegorz Bierecki (right) during Tuesday’s general session;”I want to borrow a phrase from my Caribbean friends: the credit union movement is in my DNA,” said incoming World Council Chairwoman Anne Cochran; The 2015–2016 World Council Board of Directors. From left: Daniel Burns (Canada); Patrick Jury (USA); Manfred Dasenbrock (Brazil); Yvonne Ridguard Harris (Jamaica); Doug Stoddart (Canada); Steven Stapp (USA); Anne Cochran (USA); Chul-sang Moon (Korea); Rafal Matusiak (Poland); Sylvester Kadzola (Malawi); Bruce Foulke (USA); Mark Degotardi (Australia); Jaime Chavez Suarez (Colombia). Not pictured: Brian McCrory (Ireland) or Brian Branch (USA).

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions’ financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented more than 290 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 57,000 credit unions in 105 countries serve 217 million people. Learn more about World Council’s impact around the world at www.woccu.org.

More News