Frank Wasson appointed new president and CEO of First Entertainment Credit Union
HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 17, 2016) — First Entertainment Credit Union has announced the appointment of Frank Wasson (Wasson) as its new president and CEO. He will assume responsibilities on June 13, 2016, and will succeed Chuck Bruen (Bruen), recipient of the Leo H. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award, who will remain as an executive consultant.
Bruen started as CEO and President of First Entertainment in 1987 and has grown the credit union from $28 million in assets to over $1.2 billion today. He attributes the credit union’s success to “continuing to focus on our entertainment members.” Bruen has been recognized as an early adopter of technology, one of the first to establish a credit union blog and website, and as an innovator for utilizing technology to better serve members. Bruen is known as a strong advocate for credit unions and served as Chairman the Board of the California League Board when the Credit Union Membership Access Act (HR 1151) was passed and signed into law, initiating the development of credit unions as full-service organizations and growing industry membership to more than 100 million members.
Wasson leaves his post as the chief operations officer of CBC Credit Union, with $459 million in assets, to join First Entertainment. He has built a reputation on delivering large-scale business transformations and creating and leading cohesive and collaborative teams.
Gari Ann Douglass, Chair of First Entertainment, said, “We are delighted to find tremendous talent in Frank after thriving and growing under the leadership and guidance of Chuck Bruen, a successful and award-winning industry leader. The industry needs exemplary leaders who can leverage our strategic advantage for the benefit of the membership,” according to Douglass.
Patrick Miller, CEO of CBC, commented, “We are thrilled that another credit union would recognize and take advantage of Mr. Wasson‘s leadership, business acumen, and project-management skills. The fact that Frank is going to First Entertainment, where there is such a long history of success and member service excellence, makes us even more proud of his success. He motivated his teams to set the standard for internal team member service excellence and was universally recognized by staff, peer leaders, and our board as an exceptional leader. He will continue to be a trusted colleague and source of advice to our leadership team, and me personally, for years to come,” said Miller.
Deedee Myers, CEO of DDJ Myers, led the rigorous search project and commented, “From the inception of the search, the First Entertainment board and search committee modeled a high-performing perspective and deliberation through the entire process. The strategic success of the search process and Patrick Miller’s, CEO of CBC, joint announcement of this notable event is a model of success for the industry.”
About First Entertainment Credit Union
For over 50 years, First Entertainment Credit Union has had a rich history of serving Los Angeles and long been affiliated with entertainment organizations like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Lions Gate Entertainment, Capital Records, Warner Bros, Dick Clark Productions and 20th Century Fox. They were founded by employees of Warner Bros. Studio, and today manage over $1.5 billion in assets with a team of 240 plus employees. First Entertainment has been serving its 85,000+ members with access to their 11 locations spread across Los Angeles Country – including the Warner Bros, Sony and Paramount studio locations – with nearly 5,000 co-op credit unions nationwide. For additional information about First Entertainment, please visit our website: www.firstent.org.
