Phoenix, AZ – FirstLight Federal Credit Union ($1.5B, El Paso, TX) has selected Margie Salazar to serve as chief executive officer (CEO). Salazar previously served as chief financial officer of FirstLight Federal Credit Union and will succeed long-time CEO Karl Murphy on February 1, 2023. She was placed by DDJ Myers, the well-known leadership development firm. “Working with the DDJ Myers team helped me better prepare for the process,” Salazar says. “As my first time going through the CEO hiring process, I wasn’t sure what to expect but Deedee walked me through each step and provided valuable feedback on areas of focus.”
“Margie is an accomplished leader with extensive experience in the financial industry. I have had the pleasure of working with Margie for many years and know she has the spirit and temperament to lead our credit union. She understands the needs of our members, our employees, and our community stakeholders,” said Karl Murphy. “Margie is an innovator in the finance space and will thoughtfully guide FirstLight into the future,” he added.
Salazar has worked at the credit union for 25 years, starting her career as a teller while attending college. During her career, she has held several positions overseeing various areas of the FirstLight, including branch operations, marketing, human resources, consumer, mortgage and business lending, asset quality, E-Services and most recently finance and risk management.
“I am excited, grateful, and humbled,” says Salazar. “I am extremely passionate about the credit union movement and our over-arching mantra of ‘people helping people.’ And as a proud Latina from El Paso, I look forward to building upon our mission of improving lives so our members and community alike can achieve their dreams.”
Margie obtained her Bachelor of Business degree in Marketing and Management from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She is active in the credit union industry and a community advocate – having served as President of the Board of the El Paso Chapter of Credit Unions and President for the Armed Services YMCA. She is currently a member of the National Association of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals and Chair of the Board for the YMCA of El Paso. She also serves on the advisory council for UTEP’s El Paso Banking Academy.
About FirstLight Federal Credit Union
FirstLight Federal Credit Union is a local financial cooperative serving over 109,000 members in the El Paso, Fort Bliss, and Las Cruces communities. Founded in 1955 by nine pioneers to help military and civilian personnel, the credit union has grown to $1.5 billion in assets serving El Paso, TX and Doña Ana, NM counties. Since 2018, the FirstLight Community Foundation has donated $100,000 in student scholarships while providing funds to local food banks to mitigate food insecurity. For more information about FirstLight or our Community Foundation, visit www.firstlightfcu.org.
About DDJ Myers: An ALM First Company
DDJ Myers specializes in leadership success through executive recruitment, strategic organization, and board development for financial institutions. In addition, they offer a broad range of online assessments to help companies optimize their greatest assets – their people. DDJ Myers joined forces with ALM First, a strategic partner that offers depositories an array of financial advisory services, in 2022 to provide expanded educational opportunities and solutions to help clients optimize both people and financial performance. Learn more at www.ddjmyers.com or visit our parent company www.almfirst.com.
