Lucy Ito announces retirement at YE ’21; pledges no interruption to NASCUS’ work

(May 7, 2021) Lucy Ito, NASCUS President and CEO since 2014, will retire from the position at year’s end, she announced this week. The association is conducting a search for a new leader, to take office before Ito departs to allow for a smooth transition.

“Working with both state regulators and credit unions over my entire career has been tremendously fulfilling,” Ito said. “It has been a true privilege to work alongside the very best in the industry and lead NASCUS over these past nearly seven years.”

Ito thanked the NASCUS Regulator Board and the Credit Union Advisory Council for their support and guidance during her tenure at NASCUS, which began in November 2014. “The Regulator Board and Council have worked in true collaboration with myself and the staff; I am grateful for their leadership and friendship.”

But she also noted there is much to do before year’s end. “This transition of leadership at NASCUS will in no way interrupt or dampen our advocacy or our commitment on behalf of the state system,“ she said. “A number of proposed new rules and actions from NCUA, other federal agencies and other entities are in the works that will effect state credit unions. NASCUS will continue to be the voice of the state system throughout the year as these efforts proceed. We also will continue to pursue our own initiatives and events – including the 2021 State System Summit, our annual conference for the state credit union system this summer.”

The NASCUS leader joined the association after serving as executive vice president and chief operations officer at the California and Nevada Credit Unions Leagues. Prior to that, she served as a vice president of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) working on credit union development issues worldwide.

She currently serves on the International Credit Union Regulators’ Network (ICURN) Board of Directors and Steering Committee, the State Issues Committee of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL), and the NCUA-SSA Joint Supervisory Working Group. She also participates in the African-American Credit Union Coalition’s (AACUL) Cross Cultural Exchange Program, a newly launched national pilot initiative.

NASCUS leadership has named a search committee to select a new leader for the association; D. Hilton and Associates, an executive recruiting firm with long ties to the credit union system, has been retained to identify suitable candidates.