Simone LeClear
Simone LeClear is the AVP of Marketing at 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, where she has helped drive the organization’s growth for more than a decade. She believes great marketing lives at the intersection of people and data—building strong, collaborative relationships with stakeholders while leveraging insights, automation, and streamlined processes to uncover opportunities and better understand audiences. Through thoughtful storytelling, she translates those insights into marketing that resonates, builds trust, and drives meaningful results.
With a background in visual communications from Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, Simone began her career in home décor before discovering her passion for financial services. Inspired by 3Rivers’ mission of helping people understand money matters every day, she found purpose in using marketing to support financial education to strengthen the communities they serve. In her current role, Simone leads brand and content strategy across marketing, advertising, and member engagement initiatives. She has helped transform her team’s approach from reactive project management to proactive, high-impact campaign planning—introducing automated workflows, strengthening collaboration with internal teams, and positioning marketing as a strategic partner within the organization.
Her work has supported significant organizational growth, including increasing membership from 70,000 to more than 130,000 and expanding assets from $788 million to $2.6 billion, while contributing to multiple branch openings, the acquisition of West End Bank, product development, and digital experience enhancements.
Passionate about people and purpose, Simone thrives on storytelling, relationship-building, and mentoring her team. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, playing Dungeons & Dragons, gaming, and spending time with her family, while supporting community initiatives such as Community Harvest Food Bank and Toys for Tots.
• Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne - Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly 40 Under 40: Class of 2025
• Gold Advertising Honor Award
• Silver Advertising Honor Award - 2017,2019,2020
• YLNI Leadership Institute Graduate
• Community Harvest Food Bank
• Toys for Tots
• YLNI Get Out the Vote Committee
What do you attribute your success to?
My success has been the result of my natural curiosity, a strong eagerness to learn and help others, and consistently showing up and being fully present. Collaboration is at the heart of everything I do: working closely with others, exchanging ideas, and brainstorming together has been hugely influential to my growth. Above all, I have been so lucky to have incredible mentors along the way who have inspired and guided me. I would not be where I am today without their support and wisdom.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Visibility is just as important as skill. Don’t just do great work. Share it, take up space, use your voice, ask the questions you've been dying to ask, and advocate for a seat at the table. Collaboration amplifies impact, and letting others see your contributions not only allows them to support your work, but also enrich and elevate it. If your voice isn’t valued, find somewhere that will empower you. Being in the right space makes all the difference.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, our biggest opportunity is leveraging AI in two key areas:
- Internally, AI can help our teams access information quickly. We're currently developing an AI driven platform that allows our teams to get instant answers on everything from current auto loan rates to member account issues. This will greatly improve and streamline the support and service we provide to not only our members, but to each other and keep us focused on the high impact work that only we can do.
- Externally, I’m excited about the potential to use AI to help our members manage their finances more effectively. For example, AI could review spending habits, suggest ways to save, or provide personalized budgeting advice. We are a people-first organization, so the goal is to leverage technology in a way that enhances, not replaces our connection with our members.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life are curiosity, transparency, trust, collaboration, helping others, and having fun!