In the CEO Spotlight…

Meet Justin Maddison, named CEO of Western Cooperative CU in Williston, ND just six months ago, who says Melanie Stillwell has been his greatest work mentor. 

Justin Maddison

​by Shawn Marie Brummer, Communications Specialist

Last April, Justin Maddison was named President/CEO of Western Cooperative Credit Union (Williston, ND) upon the retirement of longtime CEO Melanie Stillwell. With more than a decade of solid leadership experience and demonstrated strategic management at WCCU, along with his education credentials, Justin’s promotion was overwhelmingly supported by the credit union’s board of directions, as well as the employees. Now, six months into his new role, we are ready to re-introduce him to our credit union network.

Justin Maddison grew up in Alder, Montana – a tiny town located in the southwest corner of the state, about 75 miles southwest of Bozeman. His family lived on a working ranch, where he and his three brothers spent a rather glorious and “outdoorsy” childhood. There was plenty of work to be done, especially in the summer, but there were also rides into the mountains on horseback, and plenty of hunting and fishing time.
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“My mom and dad taught me the meaning of hard work,” stated Justin. “Besides running the ranch and raising four boys, my mom was a full-time teacher and my dad owned and operated a construction company. When I look back on those days, I really wonder how they did it all.”

Justin graduated from Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Montana) in a class of 24 students. Like most kids that attend small Class-C schools, Justin was involved in nearly every activity, including football, basketball, track and field, and the school play. He was even in the pep band, where he played the tenor saxophone.
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Following high school, Justin attended college on a football scholarship at Dickinson State University (DSU) in Dickinson, North Dakota. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Banking and Finance concentration. His first job after graduating from DSU was as a bank teller, but he soon decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Administration full-time. He completed his MBA at the University of Montana in Missoula. Later, he also graduated from the Dakota School of Banking and Leadership Williston.

Prior to working at the credit union, Justin spent several years at First National Bank of Williston as a consumer loan officer, until he left for a new opportunity as the VP of Business Services at Williston State College. It wasn’t long before he realized that working for a state institution was not all he thought it would be. At about the same time, Western Cooperative Credit Union just happened to be looking for a CFO. Justin was hired, and he’s been there ever since – now nearly 13 years.

Early on in his credit union career, he also earned his Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation from CUNA Management School and his Certified Credit Union Investment Professional (CCUIP) designation from CUNA Investment Certification School.      

Justin says Melanie Stillwell has been his greatest work mentor. In return, Stillwell trusted Justin to be at the forefront of many major and ongoing projects, earning her respect and confidence over the years.

“Things have been going very good so far, and we’ve made a few changes since I took over,” reported Justin. “We promoted one of our consumer lenders to commercial loan officer, a position we have not had before. We promoted one of our long-time employees and our former compliance officer to vice president of operations, also a new role at WCCU. We formed an ALCO which we hadn’t had in the past, and we’re currently beta testing an internal AI program that will allow us to ‘teach’ it internal polices/procedures that can then be used by employees for research. Eventually, we hope to roll out an external facing version that will assist members on our website,” he shared.
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In addition to working hard on behalf of his credit union, Justin gives to the greater community as well. He is the past president of the Williston Regional Economic Development Corporation Board and volunteers his time as an assistant coach for the Williston Coyotes middle school football program. In the credit union industry, he is a current board member for the DakCU Health Benefits Trust.

In his personal life, Justin is married to “an amazing wife,” Patricia, whose hometown is Froid, Montana, about 60 miles northwest of Williston. “She has always believed in me and pushed me and challenged me to go for it and step outside my comfort zone to take on new challenges. I’m not sure where I’d be right now if not for her,” he says fondly. The couple has two sons: James, age 15; and Ethan, age 12. Rounding out the family is a Yellow Lab named Emmy. In his free time, Justin enjoys golf, hunting and fishing, or just “throwing the ball around” with his boys. 

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