"The board is confident David is the right person to build on the credit union's momentum," Joanne Whiting, SCU board chair, said in a prepared statement. "He is a seasoned leader with significant experience working with credit unions implementing innovation and delivering value to members."

Araujo, who will begin his CEO duties in late January, will be responsible for leading SCU's 705 full-time staffers who work from 51 branches and serve 265,617 members.

The new CEO replaces David Van Rossum who left SCU in June. Since then, Andrew McGeorge, SCU's chief financial officer, has been serving as interim CEO.

SCU did not say why Van Rossum departed. He did not respond to a CU Times inquiry last summer for comment. The former CEO continues to search for a new job, according to a Dec. 5 post on his online professional profile page.

In August 2016, Van Rossum replaced SCU's longtime CEO Gordon Simmons who left in January 2016 following revelations in an ongoing contract legal dispute in which he admitted to an affair with his administrative assistant.

Simmons, who received total compensation of $1.1 million in 2016, is currently suing SCU in federal court over a contract disagreement on whether the credit union is obligated to pay lifetime health insurance benefits for him and his wife.

According to court documents, a private mediation between lawyers for Simmons and SCU has been scheduled for spring 2019 that may settle the case. However, if no agreement is reached, the legal arguments may be heard and decided by a jury in October of next year.