Kevin Crane loves a challenge, especially being part of the team that tames it.

As board vice chair at $4.4 billion asset TruStone Financial Credit Union in Plymouth, Minn., Crane is one of the youngest people to serve in an executive capacity on that board.

After graduating with a law degree in 2012, he joined medical device company Medtronic as manager, global contracts for clinical study administration.

To satisfy his passion for service, Crane joined the board of Firefly Credit Union in 2016 and later helped it merge with TruStone Financial, where he directs the compensation committee among other duties.

In his younger years, Crane played organized sports and knows what it feels like to be part of a winning team. He was a member of the St. John’s University football team, as well as a national champion in Australian Rules Football with the Minnesota Freeze. 

“We were all focused on a particular goal and worked together to achieve it,” he says. “That same drive is evident in the cooperative spirit of the credit union industry. We collaborate whenever possible to deliver on our mission of service.”

From 2020 to 2021, he helped lead TruStone Financial through some big changes, including the merger with Firefly. These two complex institutions—each approaching $1.5 billion in assets—successfully merged in a little over a year during the height of the pandemic.

“When a lot of things are happening at once, you want Kevin on your side,” says James Sackett, TruStone Financial’s board treasurer. “Kevin has long had a skill to quickly and effectively navigate just about any situation, no matter how big, complex, and impactful.”

TruStone Financial’s mission is to engage, educate, and inspire members to achieve lifelong financial well-being.

“It’s truly rewarding to serve as a volunteer to enact the democratic principles and representative aspect of the credit union’s board,” says Crane. “We are all working together as a team to execute on the engagement and education of our members.”

Crane is always looking for ways to enhance the member experience.

“We’re doing that with technology, partnering with some truly innovative fintechs,” he says. “We’re also not forgetting the personal touch, and we put considerable time and energy into developing our employees. Ultimately, it’s our people who deliver our personal touch.

Remembering our roots as a community-first organization and sticking to our mission, vision, and core values is how we do it.”