Eckhardt out as president and CEO of STCU

Liberty Lake-based STCU announced Tuesday that Ezra Eckhardt is no longer serving as president and CEO.

The credit union gave no indication whether his departure was his decision, if it came from the credit union’s board or was a mutual decision.

The company issued a news release announcing that Eckhardt, who had led the company since Jan. 1, 2018, “is no longer with STCU. Ezra intends to pursue other endeavors.”

Reached by phone, STCU spokesman Dan Hansen declined to answer questions, saying only that “everything is in the news release.”

Eckhardt did not return a voicemail left on his cellphone by a reporter on Tuesday.

Hansen said Eckhardt’s decision would not change anything regarding the institution that was founded in 1934 and has about 300,000 members with 49 branches in Eastern Washington, North Idaho and eastern Oregon.

“What I can tell you is that this in no way represents a shift in STCU. We have been remarkably stable for 91 years,” Hansen said. “We remain so.”

A Spokane native, Eckhardt graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned an MBA from Gonzaga University. He spent six years in the Army and worked for Honeywell and Microsoft before pursuing a banking career.

Eckhardt worked for Sterling Bank until its merger with Umpqua Bank, when he became Umpqua’s executive vice president of operations. Since early 2016, Eckhardt has served as the chief operating officer at Oregon-based Wave Form Systems Inc., a provider of advanced surgical technologies.

Eckhardt also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Spokane International Airport.

The STCU board named Lindsey Myhre, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, as the interim CEO and CFO , according to the release.

Myhre, who grew up in Colville, started working at STCU in 2000 as an accounting assistant and joined the executive leadership team in 2015.

“She has been instrumental in shaping STCU’s culture and is deeply involved in all areas of the credit union,” the news release states.

Myhre is the past chair and past treasurer of Spokane’s University District Development Association, as well as for the University District Public Development Authority.

In addition, she serves as president of the board of directors for Partners INW, a nonprofit that supports low-income families. She is also the president of the East Valley High School Booster Club.