New Langley CEO hopes to continue credit union's growth

Tom Ryan, born in Montana while his father served at Malmstrom Air Force Base, is now president and CEO of Langley Federal Credit Union, which began serving workers at the predecessor agency to NASA and Langley Field.

While he said his background should help him connect with some of Langley's members, Ryan noted that the credit union serves more than NASA employees and Air Force members.

"A bigger segment (of our membership) might be ex-military, and we serve other employers and other people in the community so we have a hybrid field of membership at Langley."

Ryan replaces Jean Yokum, who worked at the credit union for the better part of six decades and led the organization for 33 years.

In an interview this week, Ryan credited Yokum with Langley's membership growth and increased assets, which are now up to about $1.7 billion. As CEO, Ryan said he hopes to build on Yokum's accomplishments.

Part of that is building new branches.

"Branches are a big part of our future ? it's a place members can go to form relationships and expand relationships," he said. "We don't have the resources to add 30 new branches next year, but we'll probably add one or two a year."

Asked where the credit union wants a greater presence, Ryan called South Hampton Roads "a natural area for expansion."

Of Langley's 19 branches, 17 are in the Peninsula, with one in the Ward's Corner neighborhood of Norfolk and another in Chesapeake.

Ryan also said the credit union can expand its lending.

"There's a great opportunity to help people a little bit more on the lending side of the balance sheet, so that's where a lot of my focus is going to be."

That, he said, means "car loans, credit cards, home loans, home equities," as well as loans to businesses ? an area where the credit union has been less active historically.

Ryan has a long career in credit unions. For the past 17 years he's worked as an executive at Digital Federal Credit Union, a fast-growing Massachusetts credit union with ties to Digital Equipment Corp., the second largest computer manufacturer in the 1980s.

The computer maker fell on hard times in the '90s and was eventually bought by Compaq. That meant the credit union, so connected with its original sponsor, had to transform its structure and expand beyond its original membership.

Today Digital is among the 20 biggest credit unions in the country in terms of assets, and it has maintained a high-tech flavor. It was the third credit union in the country to have a website, and the first to design a smart phone application.

Ryan said he's suited to foster further expansion at Langley, which is the second biggest credit union in Hampton Roads in terms of assets, behind Virginia Beach-based Bayport Federal Credit Union

Ryan said his experience at a tech-savvy credit union can help Langley in terms of its competitiveness with banks and other credit unions, and help stay connected to members who leave the Hampton Roads area.

"We have a membership that can be mobile and isn't always just stationed here, where our branches are," he said.

Large banks with branches and ATMs located across the country have traditionally had an advantage appealing to customers who move around a lot.

"But in some ways the technology can level the playing surface," Ryan said. "On the web we can look just as big as a Bank of America, and our ability to deliver service that way can be just as effective."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hrdailypress/business/~3/9ELGVe_v5aA/dp-nws-langley-tom-ryan-20120822,0,5794847.story

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