NAPERVILLE, Ill. – After about seven months of conducting an executive search, the $3.7 billion Mid-States Corporate FCU has found its new CEO in the CEO's office of another corporate – Georgia Central CU. Georgia Central's CEO, Dave Preter, will succeed long-time Mid-States Corporate FCU President/CEO Don Finn, who announced his retirement plans earlier this year. Preter will join Mid-States on August 20. Back in May, Georgia Central CU announced plans to merge with Southwest Corporate FCU, Dallas, with Southwest Corporate being the surviving corporate that will command over $6 billion in assets. Preter said his decision to join Mid-States was not related to the merger. "It had absolutely nothing to do with the merger. I wasn't looking for a new position. It was one of those timing things. They happened to be looking for a new CEOs and I think I was more visible since my position would be changing with the merger," said Preter. "My plan is to be here at least until the merger agreement is complete. It's the best thing for Georgia credit unions," said Preter. He said he was likely going to be senior vice president in charge of the Southeast if he stayed with Southwest after the merger. The Mid-States Corporate FCU Board set some parameters back in January for selecting CEO candidates. One of those was for corporate CU experience, and even corporate CU CEO experience, said Lloyd Fredendall, CEO of NorthStar CU, Warrenville, Ill., and chair of the Mid-States board. "There are not a lot of corporates, but we felt it was important to have someone from a corporate given that the industry is changing pretty rapidly. We wanted someone from the environment. We were really looking for a person of high integrity with great leadership skills. We feel Dave's vision fits very well here," said Fredendall. Preter said economies of scale are going to be important in the future. "I'm a firm believer that corporates much achieve economies of scale any way they can get it. Their board is focused in moving in that direction," said Preter. He thinks increased competition is good for CUs as more corporates look to market products nationally. "I've always told CEOs and CFOs of Georgia credit unions that if I was in their shoes I'd have money in three or four different corporates," said Preter. Preter has led Georgia Central CU since 1996. Prior to that he was assistant treasurer/VP treasury for U.S. Central. He replaces a true pioneer in the corporate network. Finn helped form Mid-States back in 1976 and has been involved in key corporate initiatives in his 37 years in the industry. Finn's career is ending on a high note as he was instrumental in the industry's largest CU merger ever – Mid-States and INDICORP. With Finn retired, both CEOs from that merger are now out of their roles. Former INDICORP President/CEO Steve Tolen had his management contract terminated by Mid-States in September of 2000. Georgia Central CU's board said it expects to have a replacement for Preter by this week. The new CEO would be appointed to an interim slot until the consolidation with Southwest Corporate FCU, slated for March 2002, is complete. [email protected]