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The $420 million, San Diego, Calif.-based Wheelhouse Credit Union promoted Becky Ramos-Arzola to vice president/chief administrative officer. In her new, expanded role, Ramos-Arzola will oversee human resources, facilities, learning and development, and risk and compliance, ensuring seamless operations across these critical areas of the organization. She will also lead strategic initiatives that support Wheelhouse’s mission to positively impact the lives of its members, employee team, community and planet. Ramos-Arzola has been with Wheelhouse for more than 28 years and has over three decades of HR leadership experience, with deep expertise in regulatory compliance, workforce planning and strategic leadership in the financial services industry. She holds both the Senior Certified Professional designation from the Society for Human Resource Management and the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification from the Human Resource Certification Institute.
The $1 billion, Modesto, Calif.-based Valley First Credit Union announced a retirement and a new hire.
CFO Mary Roberts retired following a career in financial services that spanned nearly four decades, including 30 years dedicated to the credit union mission. Her career included roles across S&Ls, banks and credit unions.
Charlene Almeria was hired to succeed Roberts as CFO. Almeria most recently served as vice president of finance and accounting at 1st United Credit Union ($1.2 billion, Pleasanton, Calif.). Prior to that, she spent over seven years at Mirastar Federal Credit Union ($968 million, San Jose, Calif.) in various executive roles, including vice president of treasury and assistant vice president of finance. She has also held leadership positions at Commonwealth Central Credit Union ($616 million, San Jose) and the former Valley Credit Union in San Jose. In her new role, Almeria will oversee all accounting and financial policies, procedures and processes of the credit union to ensure regulatory compliance, financial stability and overall member satisfaction. She will oversee the activities and financial reports produced by the accounting department to ensure that the information accurately reflects the financial status of the credit union. She will also oversee the payments division of the credit union, ensuring maximization of this line of business to provide the membership with a competitive offering.
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The $1.1 billion, Lansing, Mich.-based LAFCU announced two new hires.
Tracy Strudwick was hired as human resources generalist. Strudwick brings more than 20 years of experience in various HR roles, having most recently served as human resources manager for the Lansing Board of Water and Light. In her new role, she supports employee relations, leave administration, training, payroll functions and regulatory compliance. Strudwick earned a master’s degree in human resource management from Central Michigan University, holds a Professional in Human Resources certification and is a SHRM Certified Professional.
The $3.1 billion, Appleton, Wis.-based Fox Communities Credit Union hired Gerardo Mercado into the newly-created position of Fox CU-Thrive Program manager. In his new role, Mercado will be responsible for fostering partnerships with local businesses and community partners to introduce financial wellness and banking rewards, with a goal of providing financial education to help people make financial progress and be less stressed about money. This will include active relationship-building and passionately promoting financial literacy and valuable banking services in the communities served by Fox. Previously, Mercado served as business line sales training coach at Associated Bank. He holds a master of science in management from UW-Green Bay.
SOUTH
The $620 million, Panama City Beach, Fla.-based Innovations Financial Credit Union promoted Jeremy Wood to SVP and chief strategy officer. In his new expanded role, Wood will oversee the credit union’s strategic planning, human resources, marketing and communications, enterprise projects, information technology and digital banking functions. He joined Innovations in 2021 and previously served as director of strategic initiatives. Wood has more than two decades of financial services and project leadership experience, having also held past positions at IAP Worldwide Services, Sallie Mae and Peoples First Community Bank. He holds an MBA from Troy University in Troy, Ala., and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
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The Boca Raton, Fla.-based private equity firm Black Dragon Capital announced three board appointments.
Chuck Fagan will serve as co-chair of the Black Dragon Capital FinTech Limited Partner Advisory Board. Fagan was appointed president/CEO of Velera, a CUSO and integrated financial technology solutions provider, in January 2024. Prior to the combination of PSCU and Co-op Solutions (now branded as Velera), Fagan served as president/CEO of PSCU for nine years. He has more than 30 years of experience in the credit union industry and previously served as president/CEO of CUES for more than two years. Fagan currently serves as a member of Visa’s Executive Client Council, chair of the Board for Lumin Digital and a member of the Board of Directors for Kinective.
Bill Cheney will also serve as co-chair of the Black Dragon Capital FinTech Limited Partner Advisory Board. Cheney is the CEO of the $34 billion, Tustin, Calif.-based SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. He has worked in the credit union movement for more than 35 years and serves on the boards of the Worldwide Credit Union Foundation, Filene Research Institute and Western CUNA Management School Board of Trustees.
Benson Porter will serve as fintech CUSO chair at Black Dragon Capital. Porter, a Black Dragon Capital senior advisor collaborating on the firm’s fintech investment strategy, is the former CEO of BECU ($28.9 billion, Tukwila, Wash.) and First Tech Credit Union ($17 billion, San Jose, Calif.). He has served on a variety of financial service and technology companies’ board of directors.
Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.
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