Meet our Board of Directors
Michael J. Curran, Chairman
Mike is currently co-president and a director of Curran Group
Inc., a diversified holding company with interests in road construction, porcelain tile
manufacturing, railroad related contract services and manufacturing of paint finishing
systems. He serves on the Centegra Health System and Road Builder Charities boards of
directors. In addition, he has served on the board of the Illinois Road and Transportation
Builders Association as treasurer and chairman of its Technology committee. Mike is also
the founder and director of the Alpine Children’s Charity. Mike holds a
bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University with special interests in
accounting and information technology.
Paul Martin, Vice-Chair
As former senior vice-president and chief information officer
at Baxter International, Paul is a renowned leader in information technology, strategy,
operations, security and processes. Since 2017, Paul has served on the board of directors
of Unisys Corporation and is currently a member of its Audit and Finance Committee as well
as chair of its Security and Enterprise Risk Committee. Early in 2021, he joined the board
of directors of Ping Identity Holding Corp, a global provider of intelligent identity
management software solutions, and is currently a member of its Audit Committee. He also
joined the board of directors of Owens Corning, a global building and industrial materials
leader, where he serves on the Audit and Finance Committees. In addition, he joined the
board of directors of Steris plc,a leading provider of infection prevention and other
procedural products and services. Paul was the recipient of the 2020 Chicago CIO of the
Year Leadership ORBIE Award. In 2017, he was named to the CIO Hall of Fame by CIO Magazine
for IT innovation and business leadership. Paul received a bachelor’s degree in management
information systems from Western Kentucky University.
Betty Larson, Secretary
Betty is Chief People Officer of GE Healthcare, where she is
responsible for providing strategy and leadership for HR, corporate communications, and
marketing. Betty has extensive domain expertise with a long career in the healthcare
industry. She previously was executive vice president and chief human resources officer of
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company. Betty joined BD
through the 2017 acquisition of C.R. Bard Inc, a medtech company. She started her career
at Baxter International, where she held multiple positions of increasing responsibility
over her 16-year tenure. Betty holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a
master’s degree in human resources from the University of Illinois, as well as an
MBA from Northwestern University. In addition to serving on BCU’s board of
directors, Betty actively supports the Overlook Foundation.
Bill Costa, FCAS, MAAA
Bill is dedicated to developing superior insurance and
financial solutions through innovative use of data, advanced analytics and digital product
design. He currently serves as Chief Product Officer for the datatech company Confianza,
Inc., as well as the Managing Partner of the consulting practice Counsel Crew, LLC. Bill
began his career in GEICO’s actuarial department and was noted for advancing methods
used in pricing, reserving and research capabilities. Bill expanded the impact of data and
analytics by leading the development of an enterprise data warehouse and creating a
corporate customer metrics practice. With his election to officer in 2007, Bill worked
extensively to enhance the insurance product, including innovations with underwriting
models, vendor relations, customer applications and regulatory compliance. Prior to
leaving GEICO in 2021, Bill’s leadership in product development and data science
included digital telematics products and expanding the corporate impact of data science.
Bill is also the former chairman of GEICO Federal Credit Union (GFCU), which merged with
ZTB to form the new GEICO Credit Union in August 2020.
Brett Craig
In his role as executive vice-president and chief information
officer Brett leads Target’s strategic direction and management of the enterprise
technology systems that elevate guest and team member experience. He is responsible for
the company’s technology roadmap and oversees Target’s global product
engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data sciences and architecture teams. Prior to
joining Target in 2008, Brett was the assistant vice-president, financial operations at
The Hartford. He led a team of 60 financial professionals supporting key life insurance
functions including claims administration, reinsurance administration, financial controls,
and cash management. Brett holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Cardinal
Stritch University.
Christine Fleming
Christine is an assistant treasurer for Baxter International
Inc. leading the capital markets, foreign exchange and benefit plan programs. She has been
a member of BCU’s Finance Committee since March 2016. Christine started her career
at Baxter in 2000 and since that time, has held several roles of increasing responsibility
in both business and corporate functions. In 2014, she assumed leadership responsibility
for the employee trusts area. Christine is also actively involved with talent management
and career development in Baxter’s finance function. Christine earned an MBA from
Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a
bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Both degrees were awarded with honors.
Christine McCauley
Christine has been corporate vice president, human resources
at Edwards Lifesciences since 2012. She has over 25 years of experience across all
disciplines of human resources, including 17 years in roles of increasing responsibility
at Edwards and, prior to the company’s spin-out, Baxter. Christine is on the board
of the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation and OCTANe, a nonprofit focused on innovation. She
actively supports the American Heart Association, including serving as the Orange County
Go Red for Women chair. Christine earned a dual bachelor’s degree in business
administration and organizational effectiveness at The College at Brockport State
University of New York and a master’s degree in human resources management from
Chapman University.
Alfred Nietzel
With over 30 years of finance and business development
experience, Al Nietzel’s contributions span numerous industries and competencies. At
Proctor and Gamble, Al forged both domestic and global alliances throughout the
consumer-packaged-goods industry. As a senior financial executive and corporate officer
for ADP, Al was instrumental in driving strong revenue and profit growth resulting in
significant shareholder value for the global HCM company. As the CFO for CDK Global, Al
continued to leverage his broad and deep expertise to deliver excellent business results.
Al holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting, finance, and economics from Eastern
Illinois University.
Ola Snow
Chief human resources officer at Cardinal Health, Ola has
been with the organization for over 20 years. She currently oversees all aspects of human
resources including talent management, talent acquisition, strategy, total rewards, board
interface, environmental health and safety, aviation, real estate, executive compensation,
HR technologies and diversity and inclusion. Previously, Ola led the enterprise global
total rewards, talent acquisition and the corporate business partner teams as senior
vice-president, human resources. Prior to her time at Cardinal Health, Ola was regional
human resources director for TeleSpectrum Worldwide prior to Cardinal. Ola earned her
bachelor’s degree in marketing/management from the University of Alabama.
David Strauss
As senior vice-president of UnitedHealth Group’s Total
Rewards function, David Strauss is responsible for directing the design, implementation,
communication and administration of the company’s overall compensation and benefits
programs. Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, David was the Head of Compensation for
Genentech, responsible for leading compensation programs and services for the North
America Pharmaceutical business. Previously, he held leadership roles with Fidelity
Investments, Dell, MasterCard and Merrill Lynch. David earned his bachelor’s degree
from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia University with concentrations in accounting
and finance. He also holds a JD and an LLM in taxation from Washington University School
of Law in St. Louis.
Mike Valentine, President, CEO
With more than 38 years of sales and service experience, Mike
brings unique insight and magnetic energy to his position. His credit union career began
in 1984, when he joined ZTB as manager of lending & collections. After a decade of
cultivating strong sales and service culture, Mike was appointed President/CEO in 1994.
With a humble and approachable style, Mike sees himself as a coach. He believes in the
development of employees and encourages his leadership team to treat ZTB as a learning
organization. This collaborative, team-based management style has led ZTB to unparalleled
success. Mike received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and
MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.