August 26, 2026

WSECU

Zhu

Harry Zhu will be WSECU's next president and CEO, the credit union announced last week. He will join the member-owned cooperative on Sept. 21.

Zhu succeeds Gary Swindler, who will retire next month after a 37-year career with the $5.1 billion credit union. Zhu was hired following a nationwide search by the board of directors.

“We are excited for Harry to build on our past success and elevate WSECU to the next level of member service and organizational growth,” said Vikki Smith, WSECU's board chair. “With his depth of executive experience, people-focused leadership and success in helping institutions evolve in a fast-changing landscape, we know Harry is the right leader at the right time.”

Most recently, Zhu served as CEO at USAlliance Federal Credit Union in Rye, New York, recognized as one of the nation's most innovative credit unions as well as a top employer. He previously spent 13 years as a senior executive at Alliant Credit Union, a nationwide digital-only $20 billion institution, where he held roles including chief retail lending officer, chief financial officer and chief risk officer. In these positions, Zhu led significant initiatives that helped Alliant grow from $7 billion to $18 billion in assets, more than double its membership, and improve the member banking experience.

He holds master's degrees in both business administration and engineering from the University of Michigan and brings Fortune 500 leadership and strategic consulting experience to the role. Zhu will live and work in WSECU's headquarters area of Olympia.

WSECU is a not-for-profit credit union open to all Washington residents, with a special emphasis on serving those who embrace the values of giving, sharing and supporting their communities. WSECU was founded by a small group of Washington state employees in 1957 and now has over 315,000 members, 25 branches, $5.1 billion in assets and has been recognized on the Forbes Best-In-State Credit Unions list for Washington state for six consecutive years.