New CEOs Take the Helm at Six Credit Unions

Christopher Allen will become president/CEO of Fox Communities Credit Union in April, the board of directors for the Appleton, Wis.-based financial cooperative said.

He will succeed Greg Hilbert, who will retire. He joined the credit union as its CEO in 1980 when it was known as Combined Locks Credit Union. The credit union’s name was changed to Fox Communities Credit Union in 1987. Under his executive leadership, the credit union grew from $3 million in assets and four employees to its current $1.8 billion in assets and 373 employees. Fox Communities operates 23 branches serving more than 105,000 members.

Allen joined the credit union in 2013 as a senior commercial loan officer. In 2016, he was promoted to vice president of business services and was named last year as chief lending officer. He oversaw the growth of the credit union’s commercial loan portfolio from $222 million to nearly $400 million in three years.

Prior to joining Fox Communities, he held various roles at The Business Bank in Appleton, JP Morgan Chase and Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.

The board of directors for the $1.7 billion Dow Chemical Employees’ Credit Union in Midland, Mich., said its CFO Michael Goad will become the next president/CEO of the Midland, Mich.-based financial cooperative starting April 1.

He will succeed President/CEO Dennis Hanson, DCECU’s longest serving chief executive who will retire March 1. Hanson began his career with the credit union in 1984 as a mortgage loan officer and worked his way up through the ranks of the credit union before becoming president/CEO in April 1993. Under his leadership, the credit union more than doubled its membership, grew total loans by 559% and assets by 453%, according to DCECU.

Goad brings 31 years of experience at financial and higher education institutions in Michigan and Indiana. Prior to joining the credit union, he served as CFO of the $652 million Notre Dame Federal Credit Union in Notre Dame, Ind. Goad also served as CFO for the $6.8 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union in Grand Rapids,

Vicki VannBerstein has been appointed president/CEO of the $434 million America’s Christian Credit Union in Glendora, Calif., the board of directors said.

She succeeds President/CEO Mendell Thompson who is retiring after 43 years of service.

Vicki comes to ACCU from her role as EVP and CFO of the $1.1 billion FirstLight Federal Credit Union in El Paso, Texas. Prior to FirstLight, she served as EVP and CFO at ServiceLink, the mortgage lending service for Fidelity National in Pittsburgh.

On July 1, Joleen Bowman will become the next president/CEO of the $108 million Wayne Westland Federal Credit Union in Westland, Mich.

She will succeed President/CEO Thelma Dasho who will retire at the end of June after more than 30 years of service.

Bowman joined Wayne Westland as a teller 13 years ago and moved into the member service department. Since then, she succeeded in heading multiple divisions of the lending department such as consumer and indirect lending, and commercial and real estate lending.  She most recently worked as Wayne Westland’s member service supervisor.

The $85 million USAgencies Credit Union in Portland, Ore., said it named Justin Olson president/CEO.

He succeeded James Lumpkin, who served as president/CEO for more than 23 years.

Olson previously served as vice president of member services for the $120 million Trailhead Credit Union in Portland. He also worked as branch manager at the $1.4 billion TwinStar Credit Union in Olympia, Wash.

Katharine Laud was named president/CEO of the $43 million Opportunities Credit Union in Winooski, Vermont.

She succeeds Cheryl Fanassi who served as president/CEO for more than 15 years.

Laud worked most recently as associate vice president for finance and administration at the University of Vermont Foundation, a development-focused public charity. Prior to that, she served as CFO of a non-profit northern New Jersey organization, which developed affordable housing.

She also served on the board of Provident Financial Services, a NYSE-traded bank holding company, as a member of the audit and governance committees and as chair of the wealth management committee.