CU Professionals Climb the Career Ladder

EAST

The $202 million Down East Credit Union in Baileyville, Maine named Matthew Fleming CFO. Fleming comes from ProInfoNet and Health-Connect Networks, where he served most recently as the director of accounting and finance since July 2018. Prior to that, he served as accounting manager for three years.

MIDWEST

The $4.1 billion Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, Iowa, hired Matthew Kauten as web developer II. Kauten, a resident of Waterloo, was a web developer at VGM Forbin. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science for the University of Northern Iowa.

The $896 million Credit Union of America in Wichita, Kan., promoted Jesse Foreman to assistant vice president of branch operations. Foreman’s 18 years of experience spans a diverse set of roles and skills, including financial service representative, lead teller, teller, branch manager and loan officer. As manager of CUA’s flagship office in the Delano neighborhood, 711 W. Douglas, Foreman is responsible for member experience and service, loan and deposit goals, and loan quality at the branch.

The $83 million Ohio HealthCare Federal Credit Union in Dublin, Ohio named Christy O’Connell president/CEO. O’Connell has been with the credit union for 14 years, serving most recently as the credit union’s COO and EVP. She succeeds Bill Butler who retired after 20 years of service. O’Connell began her career with Ohio HealthCare FCU in 2004 as the CFO. She has been an integral part of the senior management team for 14 years.

The $3.1 billion Teachers Credit Union in South Bend, Ind., promoted four employees and hired another.

Jeff Benefiel was promoted to vice president of digital delivery and payments. Benefiel joined the credit union in 2006. In his new role, he will focus on enhancing the digital experience for members, including Teachers CU’s digital and mobile payment processing services and platforms. Benefiel previously served as Teachers CU’s vice president of information technologies.

Joshua Neff was promoted to vice president of commercial lending. Neff joined Teachers CU in 2015 as a commercial loan officer. In his new role, Neff will lead and manage commercial lending, providing capital for businesses of all sizes. Neff brings more than 20 years of extensive banking experience, primarily in the corporate finance arena.

Sandy H. Burd was promoted to assistant vice president of payments and digital fraud. In her new role, Burd will leverage her experience in developing cutting-edge tools to mitigate risk and protect members. She’s been at the credit union since 1990 and has extensive fraud detection experience, having served on First Data Corporation’s Community Banks Fraud Detection Committee and as vice president of its STAR Network fraud detection group.

Sharri Tafelski was promoted to assistant vice president of branch operations and project management. Tafelski continues her role with the project management office but with the added responsibility of managing branch operations. Tafelski has held a variety of roles in 27 years at Teachers CU, including service center manager, director of marketing and manager of information systems.

Kara Kelly was hired as manager of public relations. Kelly has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, government, publishing and media. As special assistant to the president at Saint Mary’s College from 2016 to 2019, she assisted with the management of college-wide projects and initiatives, and provided public relations support on the president’s behalf.

SOUTH

The $2.4 billion Truliant Federal Credit Union Winston-Salem, N.C., promoted Kathy Scott to director of accounting, and electronic funds and payment processing. In her new role, Scott will oversee Truliant’s accounting and reconciliations department, fixed assets and accounts payable, ACH electronic funds transfer, wire transfer and items processing.

The $1.2 billion Texas Trust Credit Union in Arlington, Texas named David Turner chief information officer. Turner will succeed the retiring Ron Dinwiddie in the EVP and chief information officer position, managing the information technology, core systems, cybersecurity and program management teams. Turner, currently the SVP of information technology and portfolio management, joined Texas Trust in 2012 to manage large projects for the credit union.

The $2.1 billion ORNL Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tenn., announced the leadership transition of two employees.

Dawn Brummett was promoted to EVP and COO. Brummett has served in her role as COO since 2014. As the new EVP and COO, she will be responsible for the credit union’s delivery channel optimization strategy and the development of new omnichannel solutions.

Becky Curry was appointed to the newly created role of SVP – data intelligence. Formerly the SVP of finance, Curry will now be responsible for the strategic direction of data intelligence, including managing, analyzing and reporting on different sources of data. She brings to her new role a significant background in accounting, finance, core systems and data integrity.

Please send your People news items to Tahira Hayes at thayes@cutimes.com.