Journey Federal Credit Union Appoints New CEO

Today, Journey Federal Credit Union (JFCU)’s Board of Directors announced that they have appointed Jeffrey Kusler as the credit union's new CEO after a four-month interim period.

An experienced business leader, Kusler succeeds Patrick Hunt and assumes responsibilities immediately.

With more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit financial services sector, Kusler is thrilled by the challenge of enhancing people, processes and products. Whether strategizing how to improve the productivity of his teams or identifying members’ needs to enhance their experiences, he adeptly extracts and synthesizes the necessary information to achieve more while using less.

Recognizing these traits, the Michigan Credit Union League presented him with the Young Professional of the Year Award in 2020.

“From the moment Jeff joined the organization, he began to make an incredibly large impact,” said Director Roger Sosebee. “Within his first ninety days, he executed a total organizational restructuring, resulting in skyrocketing profitability and productivity. And since that time, he has grown the organization in essentially all measurable categories.”

Dedicated to his local and regional community, Kusler currently serves and has served on several state and local boards, commissions and committees, including the Michigan Association of United Ways, Michigan 2-1-1, Michigan Energy Options, City of East Lansing’s Planning Commission, City of East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority, City of East Lansing’s Downtown Management Board and City of East Lansing’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Recognized for his service to East Lansing, he received the Crystal Award in 2018, honoring those dedicated to improving community life in the city.

Prior to this announcement, Kusler served as Interim CEO from May 1 to Aug. 31, 2021, and before that served as the Chief Lending Officer and Chief Member Experience Office at JFCU, starting in April 2019. During the time in his previous roles, he increased the overall lending portfolio by 34%, the commercial lending portfolio by over 6,500%, and led a charge to get over 10% of staff to obtain job specific, industry standard certifications.

Before coming to JFCU, Kusler worked as the Vice President of Operations at CASE Credit Union, the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance at MSU Federal Credit Union, as well as a number of other managerial positions at MSUFCU.

Jeffrey’s commitment to continued education is evident in his academic transcript. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration in Integrated Management from the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University. He also holds certifications with the National Association of Federal Credit Unions as a NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer (NCCO), and with the American Society for Quality as a Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).