ABCUL CEO moving on from ABCUL

Friday 1 November 2024

The Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) has announced that its CEO, Robert Kelly will be stepping down in the new year.

Robert has led the company for the last six years and has played a pivotal role in the organisation and wider sector’s vision. Commenting on his departure, Robert said: “My tenure as CEO has been the highlight and privilege of my career so far and I want to express my enormous thanks and heartfelt gratitude to the entire ABCUL family – board members, staff members and our fantastic member credit unions all across the country.”

At the beginning of his role at the helm of Britain’s largest credit union trade association, Robert launched ABCUL’s “Vision 2025”, which outlined the outcome of ABCUL’s consultation forming the basis for the sector and ABCUL’s shared future and its lobbying priorities and service development agenda to support this.

Since launching Vision 2025, the ABCUL staff team has worked tirelessly to support its member base, despite navigating the diverse challenges of the covid-19 pandemic and being front and centre around continuing to deliver a fantastic membership service experience at the same time.

To further action’s made in his vision for the sector, Robert committed to exploring the potential for a more strategic approach to mergers/transfer of engagements to develop the sustainability, relevance and purpose of the credit union sector in Great Britain. This led to a launch of a white paper report which has welcomed mergers as a strategic tool available to credit unions and instigate more mergers from a position of strength, to form stronger and more sustainable credit unions.

In 2023, the long-awaited new Credit Union Legislation has completed its journey through Parliament and was granted Royal Assent. The bill will impact a wide range of financial services organisations with a number of changes for Credit Unions, allowing for new products and services. The bill being received will bring pivotal transformation to the credit union sector in Britain.

Most recently in September, Robert the welcomed credit unions and stakeholders to Liverpool to launch ABCUL’s Community Development Credit Union (CDCU) project, in which Robert believes will be a real growth catalyst for those who wish to pursue.

Robert added: “I believe that my decision creates an environment and catalyst for strategic change in 2025 and beyond – ABCUL will undoubtedly benefit from new thinking, a fresh perspective, and the implementation of a new vision.  2025 will also be a pivotal year for the future direction of the overall credit union sector and it feels right to allow a new leader to embrace that opportunity.

“My journey with ABCUL is nearly 14 years in total through service as a board member, President, and across so many other functions of the Association including as CEO. ABCUL and the credit union sector will forever be in my heart, and I wish the Association nothing but future success.

“I will continue to lead the organisation in the transition period with a steadfast commitment to serving our member credit unions and supporting our board and staff in any way I can.  The hard work continues at pace, and I will be relentless in fulfilling our current strategy.”

Commenting on behalf of the ABCUL Board, President Paul Norgrove said: “Robert has been instrumental in shaping the vision and strategy of ABCUL for the past six years and it has been an honour to work alongside.

“The Board is grateful for Robert’s contributions to the sector and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

“We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition period for Robert’s succession and would like to reassure all ongoing projects and relationships remain in place throughout the weeks and months ahead.”

The Board’s recruitment plan has commenced and its desire to ensure that the credit union sector receives the most value from ABCUL and its aspirational vision for the future of the movement has never been stronger.