Two Credit Union Executives Retire & Two Honored

WEST

The $913 million Safe 1 Credit Union in Bakersfield, Calif., hired Chris Hanson as vice president of technology. Hanson brings 17 years of credit union industry experience and has worked in the technology field for more than 20 years. He previously served as vice president of data office and advanced analytics for the $3.6 billion, Bakersfield-based Valley Strong Credit Union, where he was employed since 2016. In addition, Hanson was previously employed at Aera Energy, LLC, Fiserv, Inc. and Frontier Trust.

EAST

Deborah “Deb” Cook, SVP and CFO for the $817 million, Aston, Pa.-based Sun East Federal Credit Union, was named a 2022 CFO of the Year Honoree by the Philadelphia Business Journal. As a CFO of the Year Honoree, Cook is part of a small group of outstanding leaders in their field within the Philadelphia market being recognized for their contributions to their company’s growth and/or profitability, success in overcoming business challenges and their influence within the community.

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($1.8 billion, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.) hired Maria Laverghetta to its strategy office as vice president, insight and analytics. Laverghetta brings over 10 years’ experience in roles of increasing responsibility in data analytics, customer experience, business intelligence (BI) and marketing strategy. Five of those years were most recently spent in financial services, where she handled a wide variety of customer-centric and mission-critical initiatives, including the creation and launch of a cross-functional team of senior analysts to promote the effective use of BI reporting. Laverghetta has also held positions in marketing and business development in various industries, such as higher education and wholesale manufacturing. She holds an MBA in finance and marketing from Northeastern University in Boston.

MIDWEST

The $193 million Area Federal Credit Union in Aberdeen, S.D., announced the results of its board of directors elections during its 87th annual meeting on June 30.

Steve Everson was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors and will serve as secretary.

Steve Streier was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors and will serve as first vice chair.

Douglas Thompson was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors and will serve as board chair.

AFCU also appointed incumbents Mike Flanagan as second vice chair, Sheri Gross as treasurer, Pat Tollefson as legislative officer and Jem Hunstad as membership officer. In addition, the board accepted the resignation of president/CEO Robert Goscicki, who had led the credit union since 2012, and has launched a search for a new CEO.

The $4.1 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.-based Royal Credit Union hired Joe Hasto as EVP – CFO. In his new role, Hasto is responsible for the strategic oversight of Royal’s financial activities and performance, and will collaborate in strategic planning and organizational decision-making as a member of the executive team. He brings 28 years of experience in the credit union industry, having held the positions of SVP – CFO for Northwest Federal Credit Union ($4.3 billion, Herndon, Va.), EVP – CFO for Elements Financial Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion, Indianapolis), vice president – CFO for Public Service Credit Union ($370 million, Romulus, Mich.) and accounting manager and accounting analyst for Wegmans Federal Credit Union (now the $9.2 billion, Rochester, N.Y.-based ESL Federal Credit Union). Hasto has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame – Mendoza College of Business, is currently on the board of directors for the Women Veterans Interactive Foundation and has served on the board of directors for the Healthcare Credit Union Association.

Jose Garcia, president/CEO of the $58 million Northwest Community Credit Union in Morton Grove, Ill., was recently recognized in the special edition of the Hispanic business publication Negocios Now’s “Who’s Who in Hispanic Business – 2022.” The accolade came on the heels of Garcia’s recognition as one of the non-profit Chicago United’s 2021 Business Leaders of Color.

The $5.8 billion Corporate One Federal Credit Union announced a retirement and a promotion.

Jim Horlacher, EVP and chief information officer, will retire in September 2022. Horlacher joined Corporate One in 2012 following its merger with Southeast Corporate Credit Union. In addition to his experience with Corporate One, Horlacher has more than 30 years of experience in roles with increasing technical and management responsibility, including with Security Savings Bank, General Dynamics and Federal Home Loan Bank.

Prashanta Pradhan, current SVP of digital strategy for Corporate One, will take over Horlacher’s role as EVP and chief information officer effective Oct. 1. He also joined Corporate One in 2012 as part of the merger with Southeast Corporate. He holds several certifications for both technical and leadership capabilities, as well as four patents in natural language speech recognition. He served on the Credit Union Financial eXchange Architect Committee from 2014 to 2019 and will receive the Certified Credit Union Executive designation from CUNA this year. Prior to joining Corporate One, Pradhan worked for eLoyalty Corporation and West Corporation, holding progressively advanced roles.

SOUTH

The $1 billion, Austin, Texas-based Velocity Credit Union hired Jim Brown as chief lending officer. In his new role, Brown develops lending strategy and provides leadership to the consumer lending, mortgage lending and commercial lending teams in the delivery of exceptional experiences for Velocity members. Brown brings 35 years of financial services industry experience, with skills in credit unions, management, leadership and business relationship management.

CUSOS

The Veridian Group, a wholly-owned CUSO of the $5.9 billion, Waterloo, Iowa-based Veridian Credit Union offering financial products and services through companies like Veridian Fiscal Solutions and Veridian Insurance, hired Jeannette Parrott as an insurance agent for Veridian Insurance. Parrott was previously employed at Farm Bureau Financial Services as a sales associate. She currently serves as the assistant game day cheer coach for the West Des Moines Community School District.

LEAGUES

Bob Arnould, SVP of advocacy for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, retired on July 1. Arnould started at the Leagues as director of state government affairs in 1995 and held various positions leading up to his most recent role. His accomplishments included building a $2.5 million “war chest” in the Public Advocacy Fund, which allowed credit unions to go on the offensive for issues such as data breach notification laws and other battles; serving as founding member of the National Advocacy Fund Committee and receiving the 2022 Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award from the American Association of Credit Union Leagues earlier this year. To help fill the gap left by Arnould’s retirement, the Leagues promoted Jeremy Empol and Robert Wilson to SVP of federal government affairs and SVP of state government affairs, respectively.

Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.