New chief hired to lead Southeast Minnesota's First Alliance Credit Union

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Aug. 5—STEWARTVILLE — First Alliance Credit Union, a long-time institution serving southeastern Minnesota, has a new leader at the wheel.

The First Alliance Credit Union Board of Directors announced this week that Brent Rempe has been hired as the Stewartville-based credit union's new president and CEO.

He is stepping into that role to replace the retiring

Mike Rosek,

who led the organization since 2017. He replaced

Kelly McDonough,

who had led First Alliance for 13 years.

"As we look to the future, we also appreciate the past and thank our current CEO, Mike Rosek, for his many contributions," wrote First Alliance Board Chair Theresa Hornberg in a statement. "Under his leadership, we grew from a $173 million credit union to a nearly $300 million credit union, poised for great future success."

Rempe comes to First Alliance with almost 10 years of experience. He began his credit union career in Oklahoma at Weokie Federal Credit Union as the director of education. In his most recent role, he served as the chief lending officer at Allegiance Credit Union in Oklahoma City.

"Even with a group of highly qualified candidates, Brent still stood out as the best choice for our next President/CEO. The board was unanimous in our agreement that Brent's strategic, purpose-driven approach will propel First Alliance to the next level of success," wrote Hornberg of his hiring.

Rempe is taking the reins of a credit with six branches in

Stewartville,

Rochester and

Lake City.

It has almost 20,000 members in Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, Wabasha and Winona counties.

"Mike Rosek, the Board, and the team have built a purpose-driven organization that strives to fulfill the credit union difference by serving the entire community," wrote Rempe in a statement. "I look forward to being part of First Alliance's next chapter as we continue to create an impact in the lives of Southeast Minnesotans."

First Alliance's origins date back to 1933 in Rochester, when a school teacher and seven Rochester firefighters formed the Municipal Employees Credit Union based in the Rochester fire station. In 1996, the credit union adopted the First Alliance name.

The credit union moved its headquarters to Stewartville in recent years.