Kara Cardona
On March 1, Dietrich Kuhlmann officially became president/CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, succeeding Mary McDuffie, who is now retired. On Thursday, the $170.8 billion credit union announced his replacement – former EVP for contact center operations and Greater Pensacola operations Kara Cardona.
Cardona, who also assumed her new position on March 1, has been with Navy Federal for nearly 25 years. She spent the past three years in the EVP role, in which she led the credit union's largest business unit and oversaw functions of its three campus locations. Before that, she served as assistant vice president for projects and analysis and as a vice president in branch operations, which at the time included 1,800 team members across 150 global branches.
As part of Navy Federal's announcement, Cardona reflected on her very first role at the credit union.
"When I joined the credit union as a part-time employee at our branch in Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, I completely fell in love with the culture and the mission of Navy Federal," Cardona said. "I had no idea I would be where I am today, and it is such an honor to give back to our teams and members in this way."
In her new role, Cardona will report directly to Kuhlmann out of the credit union's headquarters in Vienna, Va.
"Kara has always been strongly aligned with our mission to serve our members," Kuhlmann said. "Her unique blend of people leadership, transformative thinking and operational acumen make her an ideal fit as our new COO."
He continued, "Given her extensive experience at Navy Federal Credit Union, Kara is deeply familiar with how our teams work together to provide what our members need – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I congratulate her on this new opportunity, and I know she will be a tremendous asset in helping to ensure Navy Federal continues to meet our mission and serve our members worldwide."
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
