Though former President and CEO John Caulfield is said to have left Marlborough-based St. Mary’s Credit Union over strategic and directional differences, credit union executives and industry officials say greater mobility is becoming the norm for top talent.
St. Mary’s announced June 8 that Caulfield had resigned, but gave no official reason for his departure. Caulfield could not be reached for comment.
Executives at St. Mary’s told Banker & Tradesman that Caulfield’s "reason for leaving is related to strategic issues and direction," and that "it wasn’t a sudden decision. It came after a lot of thought and consideration."
The pace of mergers among credit unions has been brisk in the last year, but industry executives told Banker & Tradesman that credit union heads have been more mobile in recent years regardless.
"Throughout the industry people tend to move around," said Robert Cashman, president and CEO of Chelsea-based Metro Credit Union. "It’s like any other career; people have opportunities to move or advance their career, and they do."
That seems to be Caulfield’s modus operandi. He became St. Mary’s president and CEO in May 2007 after four-and-a-half years as president and CEO of Leominster Credit Union. The two credit unions are roughly the same size, about $600 million in assets and 50,000 members, though St. Mary’s claims slightly fewer.
Gordon Edmonds, the current president and CEO of Leominster Credit Union, declined to comment for this story.
‘It Just Happens’
Daniel Egan, president of the Massachusetts Credit Union League, told Banker & Tradesman Caulfield is representative of the industry’s latest employment trends.
"Traditionally, it was the case where you’d see a CEO in a position in a place for 10, 15, 20 years," Egan said. "More recently, you’ve seen more movement," and it’s not always for more money. Egan said chief executives are just as likely to make a move in order to take advantage of a better location or become part of a larger institution.
One might argue Caulfield had one of those things in mind when he moved from Leominster to Marlborough.
St. Mary’s has six offices in Marlborough, Hudson and Northborogh. Leominster has 10, including two in Worcester.
In Caulfield’s absence, St. Mary’s will be led by former CEO Thomas M. Wellen. Wellen is currently a director and will serve as interim CEO until the board hires a permanent chief executive.
Egan said it’s rare that internal conflict among credit union executives and boards becomes public.
"We don’t necessarily know the details of that. It just happens," Egan said.
St. Mary’s finished 2011 with $593 million in assets, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. It reported $385 million in total loans, a 1.4 percent increase, and had $201 million in cash and investments, a 4 percent increase.
Total capital, too, increased more than 5 percent to $69 million.
However, net income decreased 5.3 percent to $2.6 million, and loan originations decreased 4.3 percent to $131 million.
