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. Story continued below…