We have great news! Our President and CEO of OAS FCU has won the highly coveted CEO of the Year Award, granted by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).

Interested readers can read more about the NAFCU awards and the winners here.

The prestigious CEO of the Year Award, recognizing Mr. Calderon’s contributions to OAS FCU, the community, and the credit union industry in the past year, will be awarded to him in person at the NAFCU 52^nd Annual Conference and Solutions Expo, which will take place in New Orleans, June 18-21.

The criteria

The award judges a multitude of candidates on the following criteria: Leadership and management ability; ability to coordinate and work with volunteers and staff; achievements; contribution to the credit union community; commitment to preserving staff morale and supporting staff education, and; education and training. NAFCU awards it yearly to two different winners, based on their credit union size: below $250 million in assets, and above $250 million.

Carlos’s leadership

Carlos’s management and leadership qualities are many and expressed in many ways. As you all know, under Carlos’s management, we have grown exponentially: from a $43 million (in assets) credit union with 3,096 members, to our current 8,285 members and nearly $250 million in assets. Our credit union provides full banking services to members in 57 different countries.

Mr. Calderon’s people skills and his ability to get people working together have contributed to the growth of OAS FCU: we’ve grown in assets and members, but also in the number of volunteers that guide us. We boast a group of over 50 skilled and highly specialized volunteers who are fully committed to serve in our committees.

For the staff of OAS FCU

The same way he understands the importance of promoting volunteer education and leadership, Carlos has ensured that OAS FCU staff policies and procedures work for the needs and obligations of all the employees. Our staff policies are open, dynamic and constantly available for debate and amendment, when needed. Knowing that we have a say in our own work expectations and rules allows the employees to feel enthusiastic about working on this joint endeavor with a greater purpose that is our Credit Union. This translates in much more personalized, friendly and meaningful service to you, our members.

Achievements

Carlos has been responsible of most of our greatest achievements. The most recent was his leadership as he prepared and guided us through our merger with National Geographic Federal Credit Union.

Additionally, he advocated a radical shift, to migrate our Credit Union into a next-generation core technology system. The new system is designed to support our members across the globe and to provide new digital channels of engagement.

Our achievements because of El Jefe, as we call him, have led OAS FCU to be a forerunner in many other areas that are new. Some of them are not just new in the credit union arena, but in the financial services sector overall. Our Credit Union is directly involved in not one but two blockchain initiatives that aim to create shared network ledgers for the benefit of all users.

Carlos helping people

One central idea that permeates Carlos’s actions comes from his utmost belief in the idea of “people helping people”. That’s why, as he goes about his work of directing and advancing OAS FCU, he is always looking for ways to expand what we have and go outwards: he wants our initiatives to help other credit unions, other people. His achievements –and by proxy, ours- on behalf of, and for the good of credit union community are many and varied:

• Carlos created, organized, founded and was the first President of NLCUP, the Network of Latino Credit Union and Professionals. Its mission is to serve and empower the Latino community with financial and development services.
• He co-directed a collaborative credit union effort that culminated in the opening of the ACCESO Office in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington DC. This is a unique branch of District Government Employees FCU, one of the original partners. It specializes in offering banking services to some of the most financially underserved demographics in the nation.
• Carlos has also been a long-time collaborator in projects organized by Inclusiv (formerly known as the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions); most recently, he rendered assistance in the creation of the Juntos Avanzamos initiative.

Because of all these amazing achievements and his outstanding performance at the helm of OAS FCU, it was our belief that Carlos was worthy of the CEO of the Year Award. Unbeknownst to him, a group of staff and volunteers worked together to nominate him earlier this year. To us, nobody is more deserving of the honor.

Congratulations, Jefe!