Recruiting executives from the board Don’t overlook your own credit union’s directors when searching for the right senior leadership candidate. July 29, 2021 by Diane Franklin, CU Management Credit unions searching for candidates to fill C-suite positions typically think in terms of two possibilities: internal candidates and external candidates. But there is a third possibility for finding qualified candidates: members of their own boards of directors. Two credit unions had similar experiences in tapping the talent of board members to fill the role of chief information officer. CUES member Rob Theriot joined the board at $470 million OnPath Federal Credit Union, Harahan, Louisiana, in July 2019 and then moved into the CIO position in October 2020. Cheri Spence served for 20 years on the board of a credit union in Richmond, Virginia, including 15 years as chair, until its 2019 merger with $600 ValleyStar Credit Union in Martinsville, Virginia. She served on the ValleyStar CU board for about a year and a half before being hired as CIO in February 2021.