CU professionals leap ahead.
WEST
Fumbi Chima The $24.75 billion BECU in Tukwila, Wash., hired Fumbi Chima as EVP and chief information officer. Chima leads the credit union's technology division, overseeing technology strategy, information security and IT operations. She joins BECU with more than 25 years of leadership and technology experience in both the retail and financial sectors, including roles at Fox Network Group, Burberry, Walmart Asia, American Express and JP Morgan Chase. Most recently, she served as chief information officer at adidas in Germany. Chima replaces Tom Morgan, who retired in July.
Sunny Olabode The $541.7 million, Livermore, Calif.-based UNCLE Credit Union hired Sunny Olabode as vice president of finance. In this role, she will direct and administer the organization's financial planning objectives, oversee budget management, and provide strategic direction in measuring financial and operational performance. A Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant, Olabode has nearly two decades of experience in the financial services industry. She most recently served as vice president, controller for a $1.5 billion, San Francisco-based credit union.
MIDWEST
Shari Ziebell SPIRE Credit Union ($1.4 billion, Falcon Heights, Minn.) hired Shari Ziebell as information security director. A 20-year information security professional, Ziebell had been working for SPIRE on a contract basis for the past year and a half. In her new role, she will lead the information security department and implementation of processes and procedures to protect information. Ziebell has expertise in administrative controls, including policy and program development, education and business continuity planning.
SOUTH
The $2.2 billion Volunteer Corporate Credit Union in Nashville, Tenn., promoted two employees.
Christina Adkison was promoted to SVP of strategic initiatives. Adkison has served as project specialist with VolCorp since January 2019. In her new role, Adkison will be responsible for the development, execution and oversight of VolCorp's strategic initiatives, and will be vital in the development and oversight of VolCorp's CUSO, scheduled to launch in 2021. For over 26 years, Adkison has served in many roles in the credit union industry, most recently as CFO of the $37 million Life Credit Union in Nashville.
Jeff Dato Jeff Dato was promoted to EVP and COO. Dato has been VolCorp's SVP and chief risk officer since 2018. As COO, he will add day-to-day operational oversight of the corporate to his existing duties including information technology, human resources, administration, marketing, and member experience and engagement. He brings over 30 years of diverse business administration experience, having served in executive and board-level positions for more than 20 years.
Susan Rogers Susan Rogers retired from the $5 billion, Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Tinker Federal Credit Union after 31 years of service. Rogers began her career at TFCU in 1989 as a personnel administrator. She was promoted to assistant vice president and director of human resources, then vice president and director of human resources before assuming her most recent role as SVP of human resources in 2009.
The $585.6 million PrimeWay Federal Credit Union in Houston hired a new executive and promoted another.
Mike McGee Michael McGee joined the leadership team in the newly-created position of vice president of lending. With an MBA, a bachelor's degree in finance and over 17 years of experience in lending, McGee brings a strong small business background to the organization. He spent a portion of his career as a CFO in the oil and gas industry.
Ali Hussain was promoted to vice president of information technology.
Ali Hussain With more than 17 years of experience in IT, Hussain has honed his expertise in networking and virtualization. He built his career specializing in the financial industry and brings a unique understanding of the challenges to ensure strict data security while providing seamless versatile member access and account functionality.
South Carolina Federal Credit Union ($2 billion, North Charleston, S.C.) hired Kristy Vasquez as SVP of marketing.
Kristy Vasquez Vasquez has 28 years of experience in financial services and most recently served as SVP of operations, marketing and member experience for the $7.2 billion Logix Federal Credit Union in Burbank, Calif. In her new role, she will oversee advertising, branding and communication, as well as manage community involvement and charitable giving efforts.
CUSOS
Jon Friestedt Extensia Financial, a commercial real estate CUSO based in Northridge, Calif., hired two executives.
Jon Friestedt was hired as chief credit officer. He brings over 25 years of experience in the credit union industry, including an extensive background in long-term strategic planning, product development, portfolio profitability analysis, and measuring and managing credit risk.
Steven Ellsworth Steven Ellsworth was hired as vice president, asset management. He has over 25 years of experience in the credit union and real estate industries, including a background in financial and credit analysis, loan workouts and asset resolution experience in commercial real estate, and has managed both agricultural and commercial loan relationships on a national basis.
Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at [email protected].
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
