Cooperative Credit Union Association Names New CEO

Sarah Vega, chief of staff for a former NCUA board chair, will succeed Paul Gentile.

The board of directors of the Cooperative Credit Union Association today named Sarah Vega as its new president/CEO.

She will succeed current CCUA President/CEO Paul Gentile who was appointed president/CEO of the $1.9 billion Merck Employees Federal Credit Union in Rahway, N.J.

Vega is chief of staff and senior policy advisor to NCUA Board Chair J. Mark McWatters.

Sarah Vega

She will be responsible for leading the Marlborough, Mass.-based CCUA, which serves member credit union in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The trade organization posted total assets of $9.8 million in 2016, according to its Form 990 filed with the IRS.

Vega previously served as chief of staff and senior policy advisor for Michael E. Fryzel when he was a member and board chair of the NCUA.

She holds an extensive background in credit union law and regulation, securities law and public policy, according the NCUA.

Vega served as the former director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions and was the administrator of the department’s Credit Union Division.

Prior to joining the NCUA in 2008, she worked as a lawyer in Chicago specializing in securities, mergers and product liability cases. Her legal experience includes serving as an enforcement attorney for the Securities Department of the Illinois Secretary of State.

Vega has been a member of the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank Chicago and on the board of directors of the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, serving as its chair from 1999 to 2000.

“Our association has a proud history of excellence in advocacy on the regulatory, legislative and consumer awareness fronts and that will continue to be our core focus under Sarah’s leadership,” Bernie Winne said, who is president/CEO of the $267 million Boston Firefighters Credit Union in Dorchester, Mass. and a CCUA board member who chaired the search committee.