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Board of Directors
(from Left to Right,
Back Row to Front)
Karl Nigg, Treasurer
Bob Nadeau, Director
Stan Chapman, Director
Arthur Jue, Secretary
Mel Olsen, Vice Chairman
Barbara Haddock, Director
Dick Alves, Chairman
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Christopher M. Owen, President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher M. Owen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Meriwest, where he has served in top management positions since 1991. A banking professional for more than 30 years, Mr. Owen has served Meriwest as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations.
Since his appointment to President and CEO in 1995, Meriwest's assets have nearly tripled and its loan volume has reached the highest level in Meriwest's history. Additional accomplishments by Meriwest under Mr. Owen's leadership include:
- Development of Meriwest's new progressive and innovative vision
- Implementation of a strong, proactive, customer services-oriented corporate culture
- Significant growth in assets, services, infrastructure and members
- Introduction of several strategic initiatives
Prior to Meriwest, Mr. Owen served as an International and Domestic Banker with J.P. Morgan in New York and as Chief Financial Officer with Westpac Banking Corporation in San Francisco.
Mr. Owen currently participates in the League of IBM Credit Unions (LICU) and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). He is also an active volunteer and supporter of Reed Elementary School in San Jose.
Mr. Owen earned a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire and attended the master's program in business administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He has also completed the Executive Development Program at Stanford University, as well as the Leadership Institute at Harvard Business School.
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Julie A. Kirsch, Executive V.P. and
Chief Operating Officer
Julie Kirsch has served as Chief Operating Officer for Meriwest since 1996 and was promoted to Executive Vice President in June 2000. She is responsible for the management of Meriwest's Financial Services, Support Services, Lending, Marketing, Business Development and eBusiness divisions.
Ms. Kirsch spearheaded Meriwest's community charter change and the development of Meriwest's new financial centers which feature a design unique to financial services and a variety of self-service, high-tech amenities.
Ms. Kirsch has over 25 years of technical/banking experience in consumer research, branding, product development, asset/liability analysis and strategic planning. Prior to being named COO, Ms. Kirsch served as Vice President of Marketing for Meriwest for five years.
Prior to joining Meriwest, Ms. Kirsch served as Manager of Marketing Research for AT&E in San Francisco, and as Project Manager at Research Spectrum in San Francisco.
Ms. Kirsch serves on the MBNA Advisory Board and is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Credit Union Executives Society. She is a former member of the Board of Trustees for The Seven Hills School in Walnut Creek.
Ms. Kirsch received a bachelor's degree in Marketing and a master's in business administration from California State University in San Bernardino. She has also completed the Executive Development Program at Stanford University.
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Hudson L. Lee, Chief Financial Officer
Hudson Lee joined Meriwest Credit Union in January of 2001 as Chief Financial
Officer. He is directly responsible for Meriwest's Finance, Accounting,
Information Technology and Administrative divisions. He is also Chairman
of Meriwest's Asset and Liability Committee and serves on the Board of
Directors for Meriwest Mortgage, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meriwest
Credit Union.
Mr. Lee has been a financial services professional for over 19 years.
Prior to joining Meriwest, Mr. Lee served as Assistant Treasurer for Transamerica
Corporation in San Francisco. While there, he managed overall credit bank
relations for over 40 foreign and domestic banks, was responsible for
over $3 billion of off-balance sheet financing through asset securitizations
and traded foreign exchange contracts to provide synthetic funding in
local currency for foreign operations.
Prior to that, Mr. Lee served as a Senior Manager for Ernst & Young
LLP in San Francisco and as a First Vice President and Assistant Controller
for First Nationwide Bank in San Francisco (now CalFed).
Mr. Lee is a Certified Public Accountant. He earned a bachelor's degree
in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley
in 1985 and an MBA degree with an emphasis in Finance from Golden Gate
University in San Francisco in 1999.
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