WOCCU names Paul Treinen permanent president/CEO

The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Board of Directors officially announced Paul Treinen as its next president/CEO.

“This is a great honor. I see so much potential for World Council of Credit Unions to help our members achieve greater regulatory certainty with our continued emphasis on international advocacy, while at the same time providing our membership with next level member services, education, and engagement opportunities,” Treinen said. “Working hand in hand with Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, we are committed to bringing year-round opportunities to respond to the varying needs our membership.”

Treinen took over the president’s role on an interim basis in April and has since helped WOCCU navigate the financial turmoil caused by the termination of USAID’s international development funding; worked with the board to establish a new strategy that emphasizes core trade association activities such as international advocacy and member engagement; and spoke to thousands of global credit union professionals at the 2025 World Credit Union Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

“The Board had already begun the formal process of conducting a thorough search for a new leader. But seeing the way Paul was so proactive in helping us create a new three-year strategy for the organization; how he presented such a positive view of WOCCU’s future at WCUC 2025; and, perhaps most importantly, the positive feedback we got from staff about his leadership skills—all made us realize we didn’t need to look any further for our next president and CEO,” said Michael Lawrence, WOCCU board chair and CEO of the Customer Owned Banking Association (Australia).

Treinen originally retired from WOCCU in 2023, following seven years as chief operating officer and executive vice president, before agreeing to come back as interim president/CEO.

He will make his first engagement visit as WOCCU president/CEO in September to Manila, Philippines, for the Asian Credit Union CEO Workshop, hosted by the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions.

Mike Reuter, president of Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, welcomes greater collaboration with WOCCU, and said he looks forward to working with Treinen on “creating a more unified WOCCU enterprise that allows our entities to come together and offer credit unions a world-class engagement experience with multiple touchpoints on a journey.”