Honorary Commander & FCP Board Member Spotlight: Mr. Robert William MacGregor

Robert William MacGregor, CPA, Credit Union West, President & CEO

Fighter Country Partnership is proud to feature Robert MacGregor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Union West.  He is an alumni member of the Honorary Commanders Program and board member of Fighter Country Partnership.  Mr. MacGregor was assigned to the 56th Comptroller Squadron at Luke Air Force Base from 2008-2010.

Bob started at the credit union as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in 1998.  He was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in 2004, and Senior Executive Vice President in 2008. Bob was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2009.

In 1988, Bob began working for a CPA firm in Miami, Florida that specialized in credit union audits. Bob moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1996 to manage an office for another CPA firm that specialized in credit union audits. Bob has led or participated in over 400 credit union audits throughout the U.S.  Bob worked as a credit union examiner for the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions for 1-1/2 years before accepting his position with Credit Union West.

Bob brings to the credit union sophistication, expertise and innovation in all areas of credit union management, including:

• Lead the way to a new State Charter in 2000
• Lead the teams for three mergers.
• Manages all branch expansion and mergers for Credit Union West
  • Branches now number 11 in Maricopa and Yavapai Counties.
  • Approximately 51,000 members
  • $510 million in assets
• Served on board of the Valley of Sun Chapter of ACUL
• Honorary Commander, Luke A.F.B. – 2008 to 2010
• Serves on the Board of Credit Union Financial Network
• Serves on the Board of Fighter Country Partnership – 2009 to Present

Education:

• Florida International University, B.A., Accounting, May 1993
• Licensed CPA in two states
• Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE)
• University of Pennsylvania, The WhartonSchool, Strategic Planning, 2006
• CornellUniversity, JohnsonGraduateSchool of Management, Organizational Effectiveness, 2007
• University of Virginia, The DardenGraduateSchool of Business Administration, Strategic Leadership Development, 2008
• Certified Chief Executive (CCE), May 2008

Attending a Luke AFB quarterly awards ceremony are Mr. Robert MacGregor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Union West, (far right, second row) along with then Brigadier General (now Major General) Kurt Neubauer, former Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB (far right, front row) and former Command Chief, Randy Raper (far left and front row) alongside the quarterly award winners.

 “I learned what a great treasure Luke AFB truly is.  The Air Force is a proud and impressive branch of our military and Luke is a shining example.  I learned that Luke’s importance to the Air Force is tremendous.  Luke is where the vast majority of our F-16 pilots and maintainers learn their craft and emerge the “Best in the World”.

Bob stated it was a great experience being an Honorary Commander at Luke.

“Being included in the 56th Comptroller Squadron activities, they made me feel like family.  I was invited to many squadron events including the fiscal year closing party, several holiday luncheons and Christmas parties that were just amazing.”

“I was able to get insight into what military life is all about and at the same time some of the lifelong friends I made at Luke got to learn more about civilian life.  We mutually supported each other.”

The Honorary Commander program is designed to promote mutual partnerships with the local community and to promote a better understanding of the important Air Force mission.  Bob stated that he feels the program is meeting that goal.

 “I feel the Honorary Commanders program has helped me realize how important it is for our credit union to help support the mission of Luke AFB.  It also helped me realize just how important Luke is to our local economy.  Approximately 40 percent of our credit union members have a direct connection to Luke AFB; therefore, we feel a responsibility to help support the base.  We help by providing sponsorships, training programs, and financial help with awards, scholarships, etc., to the tune of about $30,000 per year.”

When asked how he helped integrate his assigned squadron commanders to learn more about the community in which they live outside the base, he mentioned that he had arranged them to tour the credit union to learn about what they do as a credit union.  He also had a great social relationship with the two host commanders he was assigned to.   He personally joined the American Society of Military Controllers (ASMC) and attended several of their functions.  The credit union helped sponsor the squadron’s attendance to the annual ASMC event.

Bob MacGregor participating in the annual Fighter Country Partnership Golf Tournament—it’s largest fund-raising event of the year.

Some of the most memorable experiences he had while Honorary Commander was the tour of the  Barry M. Goldwater Range;  “Red Carpet” tours of the base; flying the F-16 simulator; attending quarterly and annual awards ceremonies and many change of command ceremonies as well as the Luke Days Open House air show festivities.

Bob feels being a Fighter Country Partnership board member is very rewarding.  “Just knowing that FCP plays a big role in supporting the mission of Luke is rewarding,” he said.  “It has been a dynamic couple of years for FCP and I am proud to have had a small part in guiding the organization into what it is today.  I feel the organization is doing very well and is now in a sustainable mode that will assure FCP will be around long into the future.”

Mr. Ron Sites, President and Executive Director of Fighter Country Partnership stated,

“Mr. MacGregor’s consistent involvement on the FCP board as finance chair and overall ambassador to Luke has been influential in bringing FCP to where it is today.  Besides the fact that FCP calls Credit Union West its home office, the support we receive from Mr. MacGregor and Credit Union West in multiple areas is the “lead by example” support we like to model.”

Bob says one of the best reasons being a part of Fighter Country Partnership, besides the obvious patriotic reasons, is that “We do good things for great people!”