SPIRE's Burleson Named CFO of the Year

SPIRE Credit Union’s Justin Burleson was recently awarded the prestigious CFO of the Year Award by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The CFO of the Year Awards program recognizes achievements of financial officers who play a vital role in making businesses, institutions and nonprofits successful.

An accomplished leader and public servant, Justin Burleson joined SPIRE Credit Union in January 2020 and is their Senior Vice President (SVP), Chief Operating and Financial Officer. Burleson is a former Supervisory Examiner for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the agency that insures deposits at federally insured credit unions, protects its members, and regulates federal credit unions. SPIRE is the fifth largest credit union in Minnesota with over $2.2 Billion in assets, 380 employees and 22 branches.

Over Burleson’s four-year tenure, SPIRE has grown from $1.2B to $2.2B in assets (83%), 300 to 380 employees (27%), and $114M to $173M in regulatory equity (52%). Burleson leads and directs SPIRE’s Merger, Facilities, Human Resources, Accounting/Finance, and Risk Management teams.  

Burleson has successfully led and implemented 4 mergers, onboarding 5,797 members and $66 million in assets since January 2020. He is currently working on a fifth merger, a partnership between SPIRE, $2.2 Billion in assets and 160,000 members; and Hiway Credit Union, $1.7 Billion in assets and 90,000 members. The two credit unions will leave behind their legacy names, and combine as one with a new name, Blaze Credit Union. On January 1, 2024, Blaze will move up to the fourth largest credit union in Minnesota with $4 Billion in assets, 26 branches, 640+ employees, 250,000+ members, and a vastly expanded ATM and Shared Branching network. This is one of the largest mergers in credit union industry history.

“This honor could not have been bestowed upon a more deserving individual.  Justin Burleson’s contributions to the SPIRE team have transformed our workforce, culture and financial position,” said Dan Stoltz, SPIRE President/CEO, “His steadfast commitment has proven invaluable to SPIRE’s employees and membership.”