Az Business in profiling business leaders to watch in 2025. Today, meet Jeff Meshey, president and CEO for Desert Financial Credit Union.

MORE NEWS: Most Admired Companies of 2024: Desert Financial Credit Union

Jeff Meshey

President and CEO

Desert Financial Credit Union

Meshey joined Desert Financial in 1994 and became CEO in 2017. His tenured career at commercial banks, savings banks and credit unions was solid preparation to lead a $8 billion company that’s built a culture of performance and philanthropy.

Leadership quality: “The most important leadership quality that I bring to the table as CEO of Desert Financial is the ability to communicate a vision and drive our team to success. Thinking bigger has allowed us to grow our brand and become the largest credit union in Arizona and one of the largest Arizona-based financial institutions.”

Source of pride: “I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve secured partnerships with Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the Arizona Cardinals in the past year. These relationships have really put us much more in the conversation of who to bank with in the Arizona market. Forging relationships has become a core competency for Desert Financial — just ask Sparky, Louie and Big Red.”

Leadership takeaway: “Everyone who works with me should appreciate how much I care about our employees, our members and our community. I try to be a servant leader and encourage everyone on our team to be lifelong learners. I have worked very hard to get where I am in my career and I hope that I am seen as a positive role model.”

Trend to watch: “The recent change in policy by the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates will definitely be something to watch in the year ahead. It’s been a very long time since we’ve been in a declining interest rate environment and it will be a challenge for some financial institutions and businesses.”

2025 outlook: “As the growth of the U.S. economy continues to slow, it will be important for us to lean in to help our members and small businesses continue to be successful. While the Arizona market is much better prepared for this change in the business cycle than we were back before the Great Recession, we still see signs of people struggling and we want to help improve their financial well-being and continue to support our community.”

Learn more: desertfinancial.com