New Jersey FCU Names New CEO While Long-Time Calif. Leader Plans Retirement

Tony Molina will take over the helm at Picatinny FCU and Barry Nelson plans a 2022 farewell from Travis CU.

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A New Jersey credit union appointed a new CEO, while a California financial cooperative is searching for a new leader after its long-time CEO announced his retirement.

Tony Molina will take over the helm in February of next year at the $445 million Picatinny Federal Credit Union in Dover, N.J.

He will succeed Keith McCarthy, who is departing the credit union after more than 10 years of service, Picatinny said Thursday in a prepared statement.

Tony Molina

Molina has been president/CEO of the $196 million Palisades Federal Credit Union in Pearl River, N.Y., for more than seven years. Before joining Palisades, he served as CFO at the $112 million Community Alliance Credit Union in Livonia, Mich.

Picatinny’s 48 employees operate five branches that serve more than 18,000 members.

Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Calif. will be searching for a new CEO after its longtime executive, Barry Nelson, announced on Thursday he plans to retire in April 2022.

Nelson launched his career at TCU in January 2000 as assistant vice president of finance. He was promoted to SVP and CFO in 2001. He then moved up to SVO and COO in 2006 and became EVP in 2013.

Barry Nelson

By August 2014, he was appointed president/CEO. At that time, the credit union managed $2.2 billion in assets and served more than 165,000 members, TCU’s Call Report showed.

During his CEO tenure, TCU increased its assets to $4.6 billion and expanded its membership to more than 222,000, according to its third quarter Call Report.

“Barry has played an important role in Travis Credit Union’s 70-plus years of quality services, products and free financial education aimed at enriching the lives of members and the community,” TCU Board Chair Deborah Aspling said in a prepared statement. “Throughout his career, Barry has served our members and community through COVID-19, an upgrade of our core systems, created a foundation to promote financial wellness and kept the credit union fiscally strong, garnering countless recognitions along the way.”

During his tenure, Barry supported the creation of the Travis Credit Union Foundation in 2018 with the vision of creating more opportunities for free financial programs for the residents of TCU’s core counties, providing financial education, financial advocacy and financial literacy.

The board said it will form a search committee to select the new CEO.

TCU’s 705 employees operate 24 branches.