Benjamin Smith was elected to a two-year term and will serve as a director.

Benjamin Smith

Marianne Collins was elected to a two-year term and will serve as treasurer.

Marianne Collins

Jay Pantaleo was elected to a one-year term and will serve as a director.

Jay Pantaleo

Nancy Kappler-Foster, an incumbent, will serve as chair.

Nancy Kappler-Foster

Noreen Hennessy, an incumbent, will serve as a director.

Noreen Hennessy

Wesley J. Lee, an incumbent, will serve as a director.

Wesley J. Lee

MIDWEST

Brandon Riechers

The $4.1 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.-based Royal Credit Union announced an executive board appointment and a promotion.

President/CEO Brandon Riechers was elected to serve a second term, with a duration of one year, as chair of the Wisconsin Credit Union League's board of directors on May 12 at the League's annual meeting in Appleton, Wis. Riechers has worked at Royal for 26 years and was named president/CEO in 2017. Prior to becoming CEO, he was EVP – chief lending officer. Riechers joined the League's board in 2019.

Katie King

Katie King was promoted to financial planning and analysis manager. In her new role, King is responsible for leading the financial analytics team, which handles budgeting, forecasting, asset and liability management modeling and reporting, and various ad hoc financial analysis. She joined Royal in 2018 and has held roles including senior accountant, financial analyst and financial analyst team lead. King holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and serves as treasurer of the Open Door Clinic in Chippewa Falls, Wis.

Krystle Gertschen

Connexus Credit Union ($4.4 billion, Wausau, Wis.) promoted Krystle Gertschen to vice president of accounting. In her new role, Gertschen will be responsible for the development and leadership of the accounting teams, the month-end book close and financial reporting, the annual company audit and ongoing regulatory reporting. A Certified Public Accountant with over 15 years of professional experience, Gertschen joined the Connexus team as controller in 2020. She holds an MBA in risk management.

SOUTH

Kelli Holloway

Kelli Holloway, SVP of outreach for the $53.1 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based State Employees' Credit Union, received the 2022 Commitment to Change Leadership Professional of the Year Award from the African-American Credit Union Coalition during the organization's inaugural Commitment to Change: Young Professional Leadership Awards ceremony. Holloway was recognized for her efforts as a trailblazer for young professionals in leadership, having successfully co-led the AACUC Reality Fair for five years and being a beacon of Black excellence making real change and impact. She currently serves as the vice chair of the Southern Regional Chapter of the AACUC and is a recipient of the 2020 Chairman's Award for Advocacy. For the past 13 years, Holloway has been influential in building SECU programs and initiatives to connect SECU employees to members and the community.

Stephanie Smith

The $1.6 billion Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tenn., hired Stephanie Smith as vice president of lending operations. Smith has been in the financial services industry for over 18 years and previously served as a chief credit consultant, chief credit administrator and senior business analyst. In her new role, she will oversee the lending strategy, day-to-day operations and overall planning for the entire credit union. Smith holds a master's degree from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University and an additional degree from the Southeastern School of Banking. She was a past president of the Knoxville Chapter of the Risk Management Association in Knoxville, Tenn., and is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow Sevierville in Sevierville, Tenn.

VENDORS

Yotam Haroosh

Lightico, a provider of SaaS platform to organizations including credit unions that accelerates customer journeys through automated workflows, promoted Yotam Haroosh to sales director of consumer lending. His promotion follows over five years at the company and leadership on large accounts across a variety of industries, especially auto lending. Haroosh has been involved in tech consulting and sales for over a decade, serving most recently as both senior and enterprise account executive in Lightico's Revenue Group. Before that, he served as vice president of business development at Robohold, as well as a sales manager for several other companies in the financial services and insurance spaces.

Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at [email protected].