RESILIENT NH
profiles
When Tragedy Leads to Fortitude How Mike L’Ecuyer’s compassionate leadership led his credit union to bigger and better things BY L I I SA R AJ A L A
DISRUPTIONS ARE LEARNING EXPERIENCES that set the groundwork for foresight, as Michael L’Ecuyer, former president and CEO of Bellwether Community Credit Union, and his team found in his 20-plus-year tenure there. The early 2000s were a time of great challenges and change for the credit union. L’Ecuyer had 20 years of commercial banking experience, but just three years at the credit union when Dick Mahoney, president of what was then known as Telephone Credit Union of NH, announced in August 2001 he would be retiring after leading the company for a quarter century. Before the volunteer board had a chance to set succession plans in motion, the next month Mahoney was involved in a serious car accident on Route 101 in Bedford. Sadly, he passed away two weeks later. “We certainly were shocked. The shock doesn’t wear away for a while. We, as an organization, were in mourning for quite a
long time,” L’Ecuyer reflects. A team approach and embracing adaptability helped Bellwether achieve success in the face of uncertainty. CHANGING TIMES The timing of Mahoney’s death was especially raw. “The country was in turmoil. 9/11 took place four days after his car accident, so a lot of telephone employees, executives, my vice chair, were called to Ground Zero to do work for Verizon there,” says L’Ecuyer. In happier times, a 25-minute walk around the building was a casual way to check in with the small group of 30 employees and assess the credit union’s performance. “Walking around after Dick passed away, it was a very different conversation. It was more talking about how people felt and what was going on. It was a way to bond,” says L’Ecuyer. “We all had something in common. We all missed the guy we
Sitting at the far left of the table in a brown suit is Dick Mahoney, former president of Telephone Credit Union of NH, at a board meeting 40 years ago. Mahoney headed the credit union for 25 years and was its first employee. (Courtesy photo) 20 RESILIENT NH 2021
