New Roles & Honors Roll In for Credit Union Professionals

EAST

Ken Orgeron, president/CEO of the $2.4 billion, Suitland, Md.-based Andrews Federal Credit Union, was named an honorary commander for Joint Base Andrews, a U.S. Air Force facility located in Maryland’s Prince George’s County. Orgeron was selected as an honorary commander based on the credit union’s long-standing commitment to the military service members stationed at Joint Base Andrews.

MIDWEST

The $336 million, Wentzville, Mo.-based Alltru Credit Union promoted Lone Jensen to chief member experience officer, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Jensen joined Alltru in 2016 as vice president of member experience, and has since provided direction for retail and eService, overseeing a wide range of high impact departments, from the frontline retail branches to online banking services, card services and the call center. She was recently recognized by the nonprofit Connections to Success for her outstanding leadership in service to the community, and has extensive experience in team leadership, service excellence and sales training.

SOUTH

The $4.7 billion, Lake Jackson, Texas-based TDECU announced the election of David Sikora as chairman of the board. Sikora brings over 25 years of experience in executive leadership roles in the financial services and software industries. He began his career in Houston in 1992 as president/CEO of The Forefront Group, which provided e-learning software for information technology professionals. He has held senior leadership positions in several financial technology companies, most recently as CEO and director of ALTR, which provides data governance and security solutions for data-driven enterprises. Sikora has an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and has been a member of the TDECU board of directors since 2015. He succeeds Richard Smith, who has served as chairman since 2014 and will remain on the board as a director.

The $7.6 billion Redstone Federal Credit Union in Huntsville, Ala., announced the appointment of Rick Hempstead to its board of directors. Hempstead is vice president of finance and treasurer of IronMountain Solutions, a technology solutions company located in Huntsville. He currently serves as a member of both the supervisory and asset liability committees of Redstone’s board, and previously served on its member connections committee. He is a Certified Public Accountant who brings more than 30 years of accounting and finance experience, including a background in banking, technology and manufacturing, as well as a decade in the defense contracting sector. He fills the board seat through February 2026, fulfilling the unexpired term of Terrence Clay Jr., who resigned from the board in February 2023.

Jim Hayes, CEO for the $50.7 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based SECU, was named to Business North Carolina’s Power List 2023, an annual selection of North Carolina’s most influential private sector leaders. Hayes was featured among the top individuals in the finance and insurance industry in North Carolina. Business North Carolina selected its list of honorees based on nominations, conversations with sources and research into the change drivers of the North Carolina business community. Hayes joined SECU as CEO in 2021.

The $4.7 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal Credit Union hired Dean Shannon as vice president of data engineering and platforms architecture. In his new role, Shannon will be responsible for managing the team that builds critical data solutions and provides a strong platform foundation and function. He will advance Coastal’s data and business intelligence vision, as well as create plans of action for advancing data capabilities to deliver actionable information for leadership to make informed decisions and create strategic plans. Additionally, he will oversee the technology and processes by which data is collected and presented via visuals, dashboards, reports and analytics. Shannon brings 13 years of experience in data engineering and technology leadership. Most recently, he was the senior director of data platform engineering at GSK, and he previously spent nearly eight years at Capital One. He brings expertise in architecting, designing and developing high-performance, scalable platforms and data solutions for a diverse range of business needs.

Timothy M. Antonition, president/CEO for the $8.6 billion, Melbourne, Fla.-based Space Coast Credit Union, assumed the role of campaign chair for the United Way of Brevard in Rockledge, Fla., at the organization’s Annual Awards Celebration earlier this month. SCCU’s partnership with United Way began more than 20 years ago, and in the last five years, the credit union has raised nearly $1 million for the United Way of Brevard.

The $2.1 billion, Richardson, Texas-based Texans Credit Union promoted Tanya Patterson to vice president of strategic solutions. In her new role, Patterson will lead the newly-formed strategic solutions department, which will focus on identifying new growth opportunities for the credit union. She has spent nearly 20 years of her career at Texans where she has served in various roles, including operations, IT and emerging technologies. She most recently served as Texans’ vice president of IT systems. Before joining Texans in 2004, Patterson worked in several financial-related positions for Corporate Network eCom, U.S. Central, the former U.S. Central Credit Union, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Baird Kurtz & Dobson. She also has extensive e-commerce technology, management and operations experience in the financial services industry, and holds a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

LEAGUES

Mindee Kohlman, retiring president/CEO of the $165 million, Minot, N.D.-based Aspire Credit Union, was inducted into the Dakota Credit Union Association Hall of Fame during its Summit Awards Banquet on May 10 at the Delta Hotel in Fargo, N.D. The Hall of Fame honor is a lifetime achievement recognition and the most prestigious of all DakCU awards. Kohlman has served in the credit union industry for 40 years, 35 of those at Aspire, formerly known as Prairie Federal Credit Union. She has served as CEO since 2016, and in addition, has served as chairman and representative for the Special Olympics Golf Committee and on the board of Midwest Corporate Federal Credit Union in Bismarck, N.D., among other community involvement positions.

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