New CFO, Plus Leaders in HR, Operations & Lending Named at 4 CUs

WEST

The $2.5 billion, Santa Ana, Calif.-based Orange County’s Credit Union hired Barb Krol as chief associate experience officer. In her new role, Krol will lead the human resources department, as well as the learning and development team, to position the credit union for meaningful growth by creating career paths and professional development for all associates. She brings 25 years of experience in HR, organizational development and team building, having most recently served as chief HR officer for California Coast Credit Union ($3.5 billion, San Diego).

EAST

The $2.4 billion, Suitland, Md.-based Andrews Federal Credit Union announced that its COO, Damita Robinson, was appointed to the board of directors for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce as well as selected as an honorary commander for Joint Base Bolling-Anacostia (JBBA) in the southwest D.C. area.

Robinson will serve in the role of treasurer for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce board for the 2023-24 year. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is a statewide business advocacy organization with a focus on issues that directly impact Maryland businesses. The chamber focuses on impacting policies that directly affect Maryland businesses.

As an honorary commander for JBBA, Robinson will work to deepen relationships and create stronger ties between the credit union and JBBA leadership. Her appointment represents the first time an Andrews Federal team member has been selected for the honorary commander role at JBBA. Robinson will serve as an honorary commander for at least two years and work with base leaders to address community issues and increase collaboration between the credit union and the base.

The $418 million HRCU in Rochester, N.H., promoted Nicole Huntress to vice president of operations and compliance. In her new role, she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the credit union’s retail operations and compliance. Huntress joined HRCU as a teller in 2005 and has since risen through the ranks, taking on roles such as branch manager, operations manager, director of compliance, and most recently assistant vice president of operations and compliance. She holds the CUNA certifications of Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Specialist and Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert. In addition, Huntress joined the Rochester Crimeline board of directors in 2018 and has served as the board’s secretary since 2019, and previously served as a member of the Rochester Main Street outreach committee.

The $882 million, Chesapeake, Va.-based ABNB Federal Credit Union hired Sam Kazmi as vice president of real estate lending. In his new role, Kazmi will oversee the home mortgage department, be responsible for developing the mortgage team and work to create new home buying programs. He brings more than 25 years of experience in creating and growing efficient and profitable mortgage lending platforms, as well as increasing secondary mortgage market fee income and creating portfolio options for targeted net interest margin opportunities.

SOUTH

The $753 million Members Choice Credit Union in Houston, Texas hired Keith Hrnyak as CFO. Hrnyak brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector and most recently served at TDECU ($4.7 billion, Lake Jackson, Texas) as controller and vice president. Previously, he spent several years at infrastructure consulting firm AECOM as information technology manager and director of financial reporting. He also served as a financial center manager for various banking institutions, including Fifth Third Bank and Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase Bank) throughout his career. He holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and a master of science in accounting from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

VENDORS

National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a Washington, D.C.-headquartered financial institution servicing credit unions and cooperatives nationwide, hired Benjamin Rempe to its credit union team as SVP. In his new role, Rempe will help grow NCB’s credit union line of business, which offers correspondent services, treasury services, deposits and lending solutions to credit unions, leagues and CUSOs in the Midwest. Rempe brings over 13 years of experience in the credit union sector and 20 years working with financial services. Most recently, he served as CEO of Rebel Structured Finance, working with credit unions to monetize their real estate assets through sale-leaseback transactions. Before that, he was the COO of the CUSO LenderClose (now Coviance). Rempe first worked with NCB while serving as vice president of business development for TMG Financial Services (TMGFS), when NCB was selected as the correspondent banking provider for the Iowa Credit Union League. He holds an MBA from University of Iowa.

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