Everwise CU Names Seven New Leaders, SRP FCU Promotes Two

MIDWEST

Craig Lundquist, a financial professional at Ideal Wealth Advisors located at the $1 billion, Woodbury, Minn.-based Ideal Credit Union, was appointed to the Senior Advisor Leadership Team (SALT) with TruStage. This distinction is awarded to a select number of financial professionals working through credit unions with TruStage who demonstrate a consultative approach with their clients, exceptional sales productivity, and leadership within their credit union and among their peers. Lundquist has worked in the investment and insurance industry since 2003. In addition to providing sound input and representing his fellow advisors with TruStage leadership and staff, Lundquist will also serve as an ambassador for TruStage and fellow financial professionals across the country.

The $2.2 billion, Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Consumers Credit Union hired Joshua Ruggles as a financial advisor. As a CUSO Financial Services financial advisor, Ruggles will assist Consumers members in making investment decisions and retirement plans in support of their financial goals. He has served a wide range of members in the financial services industry for the past decade.

The $5.1 billion, South Bend, Ind.-based Everwise Credit Union announced seven new hires.

Paul Letourneau was hired as SVP, commercial credit and specialty finance. In his new role, Letourneau will provide strategic and operational leadership for Everwise’s national commercial real estate and SBA/USDA lending strategies, wholesale lending partnerships and loan trading programs. He will also be instrumental in the development of a sound overall credit culture and maturing credit risk management capabilities. Letourneau spent a decade at Merrill Lynch early in his career and has more than 30 years of CRE, health care, and commercial and industrial experience with business banking, and middle-market underwriting and portfolio management.

Mike London was hired as chief of account and credit operations. In his new role, he will supervise and support core banking and credit operations teams and processes to support Everwise member service, sales and growth. He will also lead the middle- and back-office banking and credit operations teams, including centralized underwriting and loan processing, deposit account operations, payment operations, asset operations (loan servicing), small business banking operations, collections/loss mitigation and other related functions. London brings 17 years of financial services experience, having most recently served more than a decade at Georgia United Credit Union ($2.1 billion, Duluth, Ga.), half of that time as chief lending officer and most recently as chief transformation and strategy officer. He holds an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Amber Pulford was hired as market president, South Bend and Elkhart. In her new role, Pulford will lead business development, market relations and civic/community engagement efforts in the South Bend and Elkhart region. She will also ensure that the Everwise brand is well represented, monitor competitor activities and guide Everwise strategic growth priorities across the Michiana region by actively supporting the success of the service, lending and banking teams. Pulford brings more than 15 years of experience in market management, business development and strategic planning, and has spent much of her career in community banking. She is an alumna of the Graduate School of Banking at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jessica Gerich was hired as vice president, marketing. In her new role, she is responsible for leading the marketing team and all marketing activities, including the design and execution of customer, sales and revenue growth strategies. Gerich brings more than 15 years of experience in end-to-end digital and omnichannel marketing strategy across multiple industries. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Ashvin Prakash was hired as vice president, product strategy. In his new role, Prakash will create the strategy, roadmap and overall management systems for Everwise products and services with an emphasis on creating higher value and meeting the financial and operational needs of the credit union. Prakash brings over 15 years of experience in designing and launching consumer and B2B financial products and services to optimize business growth and customer engagement. He holds a master of science in economics from Ohio State University.

Laurice Srichinda was hired as vice president, residential lending. In her new role, she will be responsible for developing, implementing and achieving the strategic and annual operating plan and budget for all Everwise mortgage lending. She will also lead and oversee a broad array of functions including mortgage sales, processing, underwriting, QA, closing and delivery/secondary markets. Srichinda brings nearly 20 years of experience in residential mortgage lending, including sales, processing/operations, servicing and capital markets.

Sven Leander was hired as vice president, consumer lending. In his new role, Leander will be responsible for developing, implementing and achieving the strategic and annual operating plan and budget for all Everwise consumer credit operations. This will include leadership of the credit union’s indirect auto lending program and all direct consumer loan products and operations. Leander brings 20 years of experience working for banks and credit unions and has more than five years of executive-level lending and operations experience. He holds certifications as a Credit Union Compliance Expert and Credit Union Development Educator from the National Credit Union Foundation, and as a Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor from CUNA (now America’s Credit Unions).

SOUTH

The $1.6 billion, North Augusta, S.C.-based SRP Federal Credit Union announced two promotions.

Andrew Boley was promoted into the newly-created role of director of continuous improvements. In this position, Boley’s primary responsibilities will be to drive team-member focused and process-based business transformation by creating consistent team member experiences and internal process improvement across all member servicing channels, including branch locations, the contact center and the virtual experience department. Boley joined SRP in 2015 as a teller and worked his way up to member service representative, assistant branch manager and branch manager. His last position was branch manager at the Grovetown branch in Grovetown, Ga. Boley is a 2024 Leadership Columbia County graduate.

Ebony Smith was promoted into the newly-created role of director of member experience. In this position, Smith’s primary responsibilities will be to work across the business to enhance member service and seek new ways to promote consistent, superior experiences that reflect the values of the organization. Additionally, she will drive consistent member experiences across all member-facing channels including multiple branch locations, the contact center and the virtual experience department. Smith has been with SRP for six years, beginning as an assistant branch manager. She was branch manager at the Augusta West branch prior to her promotion. She holds a Financial Counseling Certification from CUNA (now America’s Credit Unions).

LEAGUES

The California Credit Union League announced that on April 23, Geri LaChance stepped down as chair of the League Board of Directors, pending her retirement from the $1.1 billion, San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based SESLOC Credit Union in June. LaChance served as chair of the Board for one and a half years.

The Board appointed Donna Bland, president/CEO for the $21.1 billion, Sacramento-based Golden 1 Credit Union, to replace LaChance as Board Chair for the California Credit Union League. Bland has more than 30 years of financial services experience.

CUSOS

CU LIFT Fund, an Austin, Texas-based CUSO focused on helping credit unions directly fund more auto loans, announced two board appointments.

Gino Cayanan, president/CEO of the $1.2 billion Noble Credit Union in Fresno, Calif., was appointed to the Board of Directors.

Ben Maxim, chief innovation officer at the East Lansing, Mich.-based $7.7 billion Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, was appointed to the Board of Directors. Maxim is also COO of Reseda Group, a wholly-owned CUSO of MSUFCU.

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