Professionals Take New Career Paths at 8 CUs, CUSOs & Vendors

WEST

The $4.8 billion, San Jose, Calif.-based Technology Credit Union appointed Carol MacKinlay to its board of directors. MacKinlay has over 30 years of experience in executive leadership roles and brings expertise in human resources, corporate governance and fostering organizational excellence. She previously held executive positions at U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US, electronics manufacturer Plantronics, accounting software vendor Xero, Coverity (now the Software Integrity Group of Synopsis), immersive 3D media technology company Matterport and video-first platform provider UserTesting. MacKinlay serves on the boards of Exodus and Nitro Workforce Solutions and holds an MBA from USC Marshall’s School of Business.

The $5.8 billion, Pasadena, Calif.-based Wescom Credit Union announced five senior management changes.

Keith Pipes, EVP/COO, broadened his oversight to include the branch administration and remote service delivery groups.

Joseph Pellissery, SVP/chief information officer, expanded his role to become chairman of the Wescom Resources Group Board.

Carina Hollis, SVP/general counsel, will continue to be responsible for legal affairs and risk management but is now also overseeing human resources and assuming administrative oversight of internal audit.

Melissa Pederson moved from her prior position as SVP, administration to become SVP/chief lending officer upon the retirement of Chuck Thomas at the beginning of 2024.

Ashley White was promoted to the newly-created position of SVP/chief marketing officer. In her new role, she will head up an entirely new division encompassing marketing, partner development and business analytics.

The $866 million, Yakima, Wash.-based Solarity Credit Union announced that Merrilou Harrison was elected chair of the board of directors at the credit union’s annual membership meeting on Feb. 21. The first woman to serve as chair of the board for Solarity, Harrison succeeds Terry Morgan, who served as board chair for the past five years. She joined the board in 2016, served as vice chair from 2021-2023 and served as chair of the Governance Committee for the past two years.

Harrison began her career as a first-grade teacher, taught at every grade level and ultimately served as dean of Heritage University’s College of Education in Toppenish, Wash. She has earned both Principal and Superintendent certificates, and served as a national consultant for Solution Tree, a professional development company and publisher of educational material for K-12 educators. She is currently the principal of Christ the Teacher Catholic School in Yakima, Wash.

EAST

The $7 billion Hudson Valley Credit Union in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., announced two new hires.

James Ciallela was hired as assistant vice president, commercial loan officer. Ciallela began his lending career in 2006 as a business development and sales manager, and brings expertise in consumer, commercial and mortgage lending. He most recently served as branch manager at Rhinebeck Bank.

Matt Eugenio was hired as assistant vice president, mortgage loan officer. Eugenio has helped Hudson Valley residents with their home lending needs for 18 years, having begun his career in 2007 as a mortgage loan officer.

MIDWEST

The $2.4 billion, Muskego, Wis.-based Corporate Central Credit Union promoted Kevin P. Chiappetta to SVP/chief education and research officer. Chiappetta has over 30 years of experience providing financial services, with a primary emphasis in fixed income security analysis, portfolio management and balance sheet risk management. His initial career at Corporate Central began in 1996 as vice president investments. He departed in 2002 and spent over 11 years working with credit union investment CUSOs and two years with an asset-liability modeling and consulting firm. In 2016, Corporate Central welcomed Chiappetta back as SVP investment services. In 2017, Corporate Central launched its balance sheet optimization CUSO, QuantyPhi, where Chiappetta held his most recent role as president. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and joined the CFA Society Milwaukee Board in 2019, where he was elected president in 2021. In December 2023, Chiappetta completed the Executive MBA program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and in January 2024, he became a lecturer in finance, or adjunct professor, at UW-Milwaukee.

MSU Federal Credit Union ($7.6 billion, East Lansing, Mich.) promoted Chief Internal Auditor Rob Johnson to the Executive Leadership Team. Johnson has more than 15 years of audit experience, having worked at MSUFCU and its subsidiaries, the Desk Drawer Fund and Reseda Group, in various roles since 2012. He has served as chief internal auditor since 2016. Johnson serves on several boards, including the Association of Credit Union Audit and Risk Professionals, the Lansing Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Michigan Credit Union League’s Capitol Area Chapter of Credit Unions, often taking on leadership roles within these organizations. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Michigan 4-H Foundation and the Michigan Association for Children’s Mental Health, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

CUSOS

QuantyPhi, LLC, a wholly-owned CUSO of Wisconsin’s Corporate Central Credit Union that focuses on balance sheet optimization, promoted Adam Stone to president. In addition, he will transition into an executive leadership role at Corporate Central as SVP, investment services. Stone joined Corporate Central and QuantyPhi as vice president, ALM and investments in 2020 and was promoted to EVP, investment services of QuantyPhi in January 2023. He has over 17 years of experience in the financial services industry, having previously spent eight years as an investment analyst and senior investment analyst for Corporate Central. He then moved to New York City, where he spent six years as a senior consultant and manager for a large audit and advisory firm specializing in treasury, ALM and liquidity risk management for large, global financial institutions.

VENDORS

Mahalo Banking, a Troy, Mich.-based CUSO providing online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, hired Charles Rodriguez as a sales executive. Rodriguez brings over two decades of experience in fintech.

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