Affinity Plus FCU, Chartway FCU, Others Hire New Leaders

July 3, 2017 Marketing GrafWebCUSO

Just before heading out for the July Fourth holiday, HR departments at credit unions from coast to coast kept busy making new hires and promotions. Plus, two credit union service providers hired new executives.

WEST

The $4.9 billion Ent Credit Union in Colorado Springs, Colo., announced Randy Bernstein (pictured), president/CEO, will retire in October following a 20-year career with the credit union. Bernstein served as president and COO from 2011 to 2014, and was named president/CEO in 2014. During his tenure as CEO, assets and membership at the credit union grew by more than 19%, with Ent reaching more than $4.9 billion in assets and more than 289,000 in membership. Chad Graves, Ent’s current senior EVP of operations and technology, will succeed Bernstein as CEO. Graves has been a member of Ent’s leadership team since 2003 and has been instrumental in identifying, designing and implementing the emerging technologies that have helped Ent continue to better serve its member-owners.

EAST

The $1.2 billion Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., announced Director Alan M. Hart passed away at the age of 77. A lifelong resident of Lowell, Mass., Hart leaves behind his wife, Jacqueline, five children and 18 grandchildren. Hart served as a board member for 28 years, the last five as treasurer. In addition to serving on the executive board and almost every committee for Hanscom, Hart was the chairman of the Hanscom FCU Charitable Foundation.

MIDWEST

The $2 billion Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union in St. Paul, Minn.,named Tara Rutz (pictured) manager of its New Hope branch. Rutz, a 10-year veteran with the credit union, has worked as a mortgage loan officer in its St. Cloud location since 2007 and has also served in several leadership roles guiding teams and projects. The New Hope branch is Affinity Plus’ first in the Western Twin Cities metro area and is slated to open in late 2017.

The $1.1 billion Collins Community Credit Union in Cedar Rapids, Iowa promoted Nicole Starks as branch manager in Dubuque, Iowa. Starks has been with the credit union for six years and was most recently the assistant branch manager for the C Street Southwest branch in Cedar Rapids.

SOUTH

The $29 million Florida Rural Electric Credit Union in Tallahassee, Fla.,appointed Paula Tuten as president/CEO. For the past five years, Tuten served as the credit union’s compliance officer and vice president. While at the credit union, she has been instrumental in the growth of the credit union’s membership, and products and services offered.

Tuten bring 25 years of experience in the financial services industry to the position. She is replacing Ken Rice, who is retiring after more than 18 years of service as president/CEO. During Rice’s tenure, the credit union completed a successful merger and grew to more than 3800 members and $29 million in assets.

The $2.1 billion Chartway Federal Credit Union in Virginia Beach, Va.,hired Beth Long (pictured) as vice president of member engagement. Long comes to Chartway following 11 years of employment with Capital One. During her time there, Long held many positions, including commercial client experience and operational effectiveness lead, director of retail marketing and brand strategy, and consumer credit segments innovation lead.

The $652 million Power Financial Credit Union in Pembroke Pines, Fla.,appointed Legna Gonzalez as managing director, CUSO Financial Services, L.P. CUSO Financial Services, L.P. is a CUSO owned by Power Financial, which provides investment services to its members. In her new position, Gonzalez will lead the credit union’s Power Investment Services.

Gonzalez brings more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry to her new position. Prior to joining the credit union, Gonzalez worked at the Miami office of HSBC Securities where she was a vice president and investment specialist.

The $2.2 billion Truliant Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, N.C., named Mike Milian director of financial analysis and reporting. In this role, he will be responsible for internal and external financial reporting, the annual budget, profitability analysis and assisting with asset liability management. Milian began his career in 1983 as a senior financial analyst with Southeast Bank before joining Visa International in 1998 as the finance manager.

In 2006, he joined BankAtlantic as associate vice president/financial project manager. In 2007, he moved to North Carolina to become the vice president of planning and analytics for CommunityOne Bank.

VENDORS

NewGround, a St. Louis-based experiential design-build firm, appointed Larry Gandelman as regional vice president for the U.S. West region. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, Gandelman will be responsible for developing new business for NewGround’s products and services. He has more than 30 years of experience and a proven track record of success in the financial services industry.

ACES Risk Management, provider of financial quality control and compliance software ACES Audit Technology, hired Ben Mahan as chief technology officer. Mahan will lead the company’s IT organization and champion the next phase of innovation and growth for ARMCO. He has more than two decades of executive-level technology experience that includes growing technology divisions for organizations in the e-learning, supply chain, healthcare and compliance industries.