Educators Credit Union CEO dies
Eugene Szymczak, whose leadership helped Educators Credit Union become one of Wisconsin’s largest financial institutions, died Sunday.
Szymczak, 67, president and chief executive officer of Educators, died unexpectedly in his sleep, the credit union said.
When Szymczak became president of Racine-based Educators in 1994, it had about $170 million in assets and 33,000 members. Today it is approaching $1.7 billion in assets and has almost 144,000 members. It is the sixth-biggest credit union based in Wisconsin.
While his institution was achieving that remarkable growth, Szymczak remained a humble leader, Jim Henderson, chief administrative officer for Educators, said in an interview Monday.
“Great listener. He never really liked to talk about himself. He always put others first,” Henderson said.
In a statement from the credit union, Mary Lueneburg, chairwoman of the board of directors, said Szymczak was “first and foremost, a generous, selfless human being as well as an inspiring leader. Gene considered everyone in the Educators organization an extension of his family. He made it a point to know the first name of those who work here and took great pleasure in interacting with our members. He will be deeply missed. His drive to service, excellence and doing what is right will be hallmarks that we will carry forward with us.”
Szymczak was with the credit union 44 years, half of that time as top executive, Henderson said.
A civic-minded leader, Szymczak bought and restored Frank Lloyd Wright’s Thomas P. Hardy House in Racine, a project detailed by Mark Hertzberg in a new post on the website Wright in Racine.
Linda Hoover, chief operations officer, was named interim CEO.
Information on funeral arrangements or a memorial service wasn’t immediately available Monday.