NCUA names new executive director as incumbent announces retirement; other personnel actions revealed

A new executive director – the highest staff position – for the federal credit union regulator was named Thursday following the announcement of the retirement of the current incumbent in the position.

The agency also announced it has named a new deputy executive director and chief operating officer.

Larry Fazio will succeed Mark Treichel as executive director of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the agency said in a release. The transition begins March 1; Fazio is currently the agency’s director of the office of examination and insurance, which oversees supervision and the federal credit union savings insurance fund.

Fazio is a 29-year veteran of the agency. According to the NCUA, he has served as a supervision analyst, a supervisory examiner in Detroit, the director of supervision in the former-Chicago regional office, and the director of risk management, the deputy director and director of the Office of Examination and Insurance, and the NCUA’s deputy executive director. He graduated from Lewis University with a degree in accounting, and he has a master’s degree in organizational management from The George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Treichel has served as executive director of seven years; he has worked at the agency for more than 33 years. According to  the NCUA, his retirement is effective June 30 “to allow for a smooth transition in leadership.”

Meanwhile, the agency also announced Rendell Jones will be the agency’s deputy executive director and chief operating officer, effective Feb. 2. Jones, now the agency’s chief financial officer, has nearly a quarter-century of service in the federal government, serving in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice.

Other personnel changes announced Thursday by the agency include:

  • Current NCUA Deputy Executive Director John Kutchey will be agency’s regional director for the eastern region, as of Feb. 2. Kutchey has served in his current position for eight years.
  • Towanda Brooks, director of the agency’s office of human resources, will be chief human capital officer for the agency. She will assume her expanded duties on Feb. 2, the agency said.
  • Current Acting General Counsel Frank Kressman will continue to fill that role, which he started late last year in a short-term detail – but the agency indicated it is still searching for someone to fill the general counsel post permanently. He is a former deputy general counsel; he joined the agency in 1998.
  • Meanwhile, Linda Dent – now serving as acting deputy general counsel – will continue to serve in that role (also after serving in a short-term detail). She is a former associate general counsel for information and access law, where the agency said she established a new office focused on federal information laws and practices. She joined the agency in 2006.

Fazio Named New Executive Director, Others Named to Key Positions