Report: Landmark’s new chief bullish on branches as growth accelerates.
The new CEO says physical locations still matter, even as Wisconsin’s largest credit unions expand through acquisitions and digital banking.
Roughly nine months after taking the helm of one of the Midwest’s largest credit unions, Timothy Mackay is pursuing an expansion strategy that may seem counterintuitive in an era dominated by mobile banking: adding more branches.
Since becoming president and chief executive of Landmark Credit Union in October, Mackay has overseen a series of growth initiatives that include acquiring a community bank in northeastern Wisconsin, purchasing a bank branch in Illinois and committing to open five new locations in the Madison area by the end of 2027.
The moves come as financial institutions continue to wrestle with a central question facing the industry: how much physical presence customers still want in an increasingly digital world.
For Mackay, the answer is straightforward.
“First and foremost, I think they act as sort of trust anchors, certainly for complex needs like mortgages or business loans,” Mackay told BizTimes Milwaukee Business News in a recent interview. “They also serve as sort of community hubs. They allow us to kind of deploy from there and really connect and impact the communities that we’re trying to serve.”
Headquartered in Brookfield, Landmark has grown into one of Wisconsin’s largest credit unions, serving 406,664 members with $7.7 billion in assets. The institution reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $20.1 million, up from $15.3 million during the same period a year earlier, according to National Credit Union Administration call report data.
Mackay succeeded longtime Chief Executive Jay Magulski, who retired after 23 years with Landmark, including 12 years as CEO. Before joining the credit union, Mackay spent more than three decades in banking, most recently serving as president of mortgage banking and bank operations at First Merchants Bank.
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His transition from banking to the credit union industry has been marked by what he described as a different competitive culture.
“The outreach and the partnership and the willingness to support that I’ve received from other CEOs, maybe that’s been a little bit the surprise coming from the banking world,” Mackay told BizTimes. “You don’t experience that quite as much, but certainly has resonated with me in the credit union space.”
The expansion plans reflect Landmark’s broader effort to deepen its presence across Wisconsin while selectively entering adjacent markets.
In March, Landmark announced an agreement to acquire American National Bank-Fox Cities, an Appleton-based community bank with approximately $419 million in assets, including about $328 million in loans. The transaction, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to close during the second half of 2026 and would significantly expand Landmark’s footprint in northeastern Wisconsin.
The credit union has also agreed to acquire a North Shore Bank branch in McHenry County, Illinois, while simultaneously making what it describes as its largest investment in the Madison market in more than a decade.
Rather than viewing acquisitions and new construction as competing strategies, Mackay said each serves a different purpose.
“I think both certainly can play a nice role,” he told BizTimes.
Acquisitions, he said, provide “an accelerant,” allowing Landmark to immediately gain members, experienced employees and an established local reputation.
Building branches from the ground up, by contrast, offers greater flexibility in choosing locations and can be less expensive over time, though it requires patience.
“It also takes a little longer to build when you’re starting from zero versus already having a base,” Mackay said.
He acknowledged that acquisitions sometimes leave financial institutions with outdated branch networks requiring consolidation, a challenge Landmark largely avoids in its purchase of American National Bank-Fox Cities because it operates as a single-branch institution.
Landmark’s strategy runs somewhat against years of predictions that digital banking would sharply reduce the need for physical branches. While mobile banking has displaced many routine transactions, Mackay argued that consumers continue to value in-person access when choosing a primary financial institution.
“While transactions have certainly migrated to mobile, I think physical branches still remain essential for acquiring primary financial relationships,” he told BizTimes. “I think most consumers do think about having brick and mortar presence before they make their decision on who they’ll bring their financial services to.”
The comments come as many financial institutions continue balancing investments in technology with maintaining physical networks that can support lending, financial advice and business services.
Mackay also offered an optimistic assessment of Wisconsin‘s economy despite ongoing concerns about inflation.
“The consumer has been very resilient during this time,” he told BizTimes. While inflation remains a concern, he said low unemployment has helped sustain consumer spending.
On the commercial side, he said Landmark continues to see businesses investing and expanding.
“We continue to see businesses expand and grow and we’re seeing an entrepreneurial spirit certainly come to Wisconsin.”
– Timothy Mackay
President & CEO
Landmark Credit Union
Ken McCarthy is manager of marketing communications at Tyfone, where he monitors the credit union industry and contributes to conversations shaping its future. He previously covered credit unions and community banking for American Banker and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a journalism degree from Point Park University and has more than 15 years of experience covering financial services. He is also the author of three literary fiction novels.
