Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union CEO Mark Cochran to retire after 17 years

LOWELL — After 17 years at the helm, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union CEO Mark Cochran announced last month that he will retire from his role later this summer.

Cochran, 65, first joined Jeanne D’Arc in 2007 after being tapped to replace outgoing President and CEO Paul Mayotte. He came to Lowell, knowing little about the area at the time, after serving as executive vice president and CEO of Affinity Federal Credit Union in New Jersey.

“I realized that Jeanne D’Arc had a great presence in the city of Lowell, but there was more that we could do,” said Cochran.

What stood out to him as he began to learn more about the city were the roots that Jeanne D’Arc and its executives had in Lowell.

“There is a legacy of board members with multiple generations on the board, and they explained to me the importance of being in the Acre,” said Cochran.

When he arrived, Jeanne D’Arc was headquartered in another building in the Acre neighborhood that has since been torn down after they moved to their new headquarters at 1 Tremont Place.

In the place of the old building, construction is ongoing for Acre Crossing. When construction is complete, which is expected this spring, the property will be home to both a Jeanne D’Arc operations center and 32 new units of affordable condominium housing, retail space and a parking garage.

A credit union operates similar to a bank, with the difference being that credit unions are nonprofit entities that often operate on a smaller scale with specific missions in mind. In the case of Jeanne D’Arc, Cochran said that mission has always been to benefit residents of Greater Lowell who have lower incomes.

“The business part of it is that we are continuing to grow so much that we need space. The housing part of it is to continue our mission of helping people with modest means,” said Cochran. “This is a unique program that gives them homeownership, it is not a rental, and it is only for people who qualify based on income.”

Cochran, who was also named the CEO of the Year in 2022 by the Cooperative Credit Union Association, said he just felt that it was time for him to retire, both for himself and for the continued success of Jeanne D’Arc.

“I’m healthy, the credit union is doing very well, and I felt like I would rather go out on top,” said Cochran. “I think there is an excellent leadership team in place at the credit union, and a really in-tune board that is going to make a wise selection for the new CEO. I would rather just do it while I can, rather than wait until I’m in a wheelchair and they have to wheel me out of here.”

He said he has little in the way of specific retirement plans, beyond traveling more to Florida and New Jersey to spend time with his daughter and granddaughter.

In his time at Jeanne D’Arc, Cochran said he is most proud of the people he has developed and worked with.

“It is rewarding to me to see people really fulfill their heart’s desire. We consciously hire people with what we call a heart to serve,” said Cochran. “Seeing people fulfill that, be all that they can be, even in leadership levels they understand what the importance of the credit union is and its place in the community and how to make it relevant.”

Jeanne D’Arc Executive Board Chair Naomi Prendergast was not on the board when Cochran was first brought on, but joined it soon after in 2008.

“Mark has been a tremendous leader for Jeanne D’Arc in both an internal and external way,” said Prendergast.

Within the company, she pointed to the 48% rise in staffing levels since Cochran’s arrival, while the membership base more than doubled. Jeanne D’Arc’s assets have also risen from $600 million to $2.1 billion in that time.

“He has also just become a fabric of this community, through his support of other boards and local nonprofits, and through the We Share A Common Thread Foundation, which helps us raise money for other nonprofits,” said Prendergast. “The Board of Directors greatly appreciates Mark’s work over the years.”

In addition to the increase in assets, Jeanne D’Arc has also added four new branches in Dracut, Westford, Nashua and Methuen since Cochran was hired.

Board Vice President John Chemaly was on the board and the search committee when Cochran was chosen as CEO, and said Cochran was the best out of a pool of “very admirable candidates.”

“We were very lucky to have had four or five candidates who would have done a great job themselves, but Mark was just head and shoulders above the rest,” said Chemaly. “He promised us at the time, when we were a $600 million credit union, that he would get us to over $1 billion. Not only did he do that, he brought us to more than $2 billion.”

Chemaly said it was Cochran’s “passion and experience” as a credit union CEO that stood out to him over the other candidates when the board made the decision to hire him.

“We thought he could bring that expertise to Lowell, and to Jeanne D’Arc and the community at large. He made Jeanne D’Arc relevant in the community for our members,” said Chemaly. “He was an outsider that stepped into the role of an insider, and he has really married this community, and the community has married him.”

As Jeanne D’Arc looks to decide who will be the next CEO, Chemaly said they are ideally looking for “someone like Mark.”

The board is employing executive search and leadership development firm DDJ Myers to assist Jeanne D’Arc in its search for the next CEO, a process that will include both internal and external candidates.