Robert Chavez Officially Retires From Sandia Laboratory FCU
After 22 years of service, he credits the credit union’s growth and success to all the people he has worked with.
Robert Chavez, who joined Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union in 2000 and served as its CEO for the past eight years, officially retired last week, New Mexico’s second largest financial cooperative said.
To ensure a smooth transition, Chavez had been serving in an advisory role since Jan. 2 when Stephanie Sherrodd took over the CEO’s helm.
During Chavez’s leadership tenure, the Albuquerque-based credit union’s assets increased from $2 billion to $3.6 billion, while loans grew from $983 million to $1.5 billion and membership expanded from 71,716 to 133,198, according to NCUA Call Reports.
He credited SLFCU’s growth to the people he worked with over the years.
“Our team continually strived to improve our offerings and how we delivered our products and services, and to make sure we were giving our members the best rate of return possible,” Chavez said in a prepared statement.
Chavez and his team launched business and commercial lending, expanded the credit union’s home loan offerings, and implemented an IT conversion project from a home-grown core operating system that had been in place for 40 years to a more sophisticated operating system in 2017. That conversion, which was 18 months in the planning, became a turning point that enabled SLFCU to significantly expand its online and in-person services and products and streamline business operations, according to the credit union.
In addition, since 2016 SLFCU has distributed $30 million in special dividends to members.
“One of the things I’m really proud of was our net promoter score,” Chavez said. “The average bank has a 39% score, while credit unions typically achieve between 56-59%. SLFCU had a score of 76-77%.”
SLFCU Board Chair Chuck Maheras said in a prepared statement that Chavez has done an outstanding job of moving the credit union forward while also assembling a high-performing team that will ensure the credit union continues to develop and flourish by meeting the evolving needs of members.
“We wish him and his family the very best during his well-deserved retirement,” he said.
In this new chapter of his life, Chavez said he plans to spend time with his wife and daughters, who live in Portland, Ore., and Jackson Hole, Wyo. He said he hopes to put his experience in fly fishing school to good use, spend time improving his golf and pickle ball games, and help one of his daughters remodel her newly-purchased 60-plus-year-old home.
“What I’ll miss most is the people. We’ve gone through life’s major challenges – marriages, the birth of children and funerals – together. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried,” Chavez said. ”But I’ll still be around because I’m a member of SLFCU and this is where my money is. I’ll be dropping in.”
SLFCU’s 411 employees operate 12 branches in New Mexico and one branch in California.