John J. Howard featured in Credit Union Times profile
The Merrimack Valley Credit Union CEO shares details about his journey into leadership.
LAWRENCE, MASS. (October 26, 2023) — Credit Union Times published an exclusive profile of Merrimack Valley Credit Union’s (MVCU) President & CEO John J. Howard. The Q&A-style profile, titled “My Journey to Credit Union Leadership,” detailed Howard’s career in banking, the unique skills and experience that he brings to his role and the challenges he has overcome to become a credit union leader.
Howard, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps., became president & CEO of MVCU in 2018 following a merger with Bridgewater Credit Union where he had been president & CEO since 2015. Since then, the institution has grown into the fifth largest credit union in Massachusetts with $2.3 billion in assets following a merger with RTN Federal Credit Union earlier this year.
Howard is an enthusiastic champion of the credit union movement and a passionate leader. The development of MVCU’s company culture that he led was recognized when Boston Business Journal named MVCU one of its Best Places to Work this spring. Additionally, Howard was recently named CEO of the Year during the Cooperative Credit Union Association’s annual APEX conference on Oct. 12.
In the Credit Union Times profile, Howard described the big-picture impact he hopes to make at both MVCU and beyond in the credit union community.
“I believe the reason people ‘love’ their financial institution is because they feel the organization will be there for them when some unexpected or stressful financial situation arises,” Howard said. “My greatest aspiration is to work with our team to build a credit union that is truly and wholly supportive of our members. When they come to us for help, we have a machine built that can help them find a solution. I envision our credit union team walking arm in arm with members to help them clear any financial obstacles that are in their way!”
Click here to read the full profile in the Credit Union Times.
MVCU President & CEO John J. Howard.
John J. Howard at his office in Lawrence, Mass.
About Merrimack Valley Credit Union
Founded in 1955, Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) is a state-chartered community and employer-based credit union with more than $2.3 billion in assets. The corporate office is located in Lawrence, Massachusetts. MVCU currently serves more than 115,000 members, primarily in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. MVCU also serves more than 1,100 employer groups, including two major Massachusetts employers, Raytheon Technologies and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and operates 19 retail branches located in Amesbury, Bridgewater, Brookline, Danvers, Dorchester, Fairhaven, Haverhill, Hanover, Lawrence, Marlborough, Methuen, North Andover, Plymouth, Quincy, Tewksbury, Waltham and Worcester, Mass., plus Plaistow and Seabrook, N.H. MVCU offers a wide range of savings and loan products, commercial services and digital banking to meet the financial needs of a growing member base.
