Sterling W. Nielsen: president/CEO Mountain America Credit Union.

• Position: Influential Leaders - Company overview

As the president and CEO of Utah's second-largest credit union, Sterling W. Nielsen truly takes the credit union philosophy of "People Helping People" to heart.

Nielsen attended Brigham Young University, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Accounting. As a Certified Public Accountant at the Salt Lake office of accounting firm, Grant Thornton, he became familiar with credit unions and the good they do. So when he was given the opportunity to join the Mountain America team, he jumped at the chance.

"I was attracted to credit unions because they exist to make people's lives better," says Nielsen. "At Mountain America, we have the ability to meet our members' financial needs and help them achieve their financial dreams."

Under Nielsen's leadership, Mountain America has stayed true to its mission, continuing to lend at record levels while other financial service providers slowed their lending. In fact, during Nielsen's 16-year tenure, he has seen the credit union grow from a $300 million institution to one with $2.9 billion in assets, 350,000 members, more than 1,000 employees and over 60 branches in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

"With access to over 4,000 shared branches and 28,000 ATMs nationwide, we want Mountain America to be very convenient for our customers," says Nielsen.

Today, he continues to be a consistent and proactive performer, with a strong history of delivering successful membership and asset growth, new product development, robust sales programs and enhanced member service strategies. He is also instrumental in Pay It Forward, a community service initiative developed by KUTV and Mountain America. In this segment, Nielsen personally delivers much needed cash support to local individuals...