SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Empower Federal Credit Union (FCU) on Thursday announced Ryan McIntyre as the credit union’s next president and CEO, effective Jan. 3.
McIntyre will assume the duties that Brenda Carhart has been handling in an interim role. Empower’s board of directors appointed Carhart as interim president and CEO following the retirement of previous CEO John Wakefield. Carhart has been serving in the role since March 11.
McIntyre will join Empower FCU from VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was chief strategy officer (CSO). As CSO. McIntyre led strategic and business planning; corporate development and integration (or mergers & acquisitions); enterprise project management office, or PMO; process improvement; business insights; and advanced analytics, per the Empower announcement.
“Following an extensive national search, Empower Federal Credit Union has selected a new leader to guide the credit union into our next chapter. Ryan brings a unique portfolio of experience with over 20 years in the financial services industry,” Patrick Piscitelli, chairman of the Empower FCU board of directors, said in a statement. “With Ryan’s vast experience and strategic expertise, combined with our talented employee teams, Empower is in an excellent position to enhance growth and services to our members. We look forward to the vision and direction he will bring as our new CEO.”
As a senior-leadership team member, McIntyre contributed to VyStar’s growth from $7 billion in assets to more than $13 billion. Before VyStar, McIntyre held various leadership roles over his 15 years at Regions Bank, most recently as senior VP, Jacksonville City President.
He holds a master’s degree in management from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida.
The nonprofit Empower Federal Credit Union is owned by and operated for its members since its founding in 1939. Since then, Empower FCU has grown to more than $3 billion in assets, serving more than 243,000 members, with 28 branch locations across Central and Western New York.
