7 Credit Union Hires & Promotions Include 4 New C-Suite Members

Elisa Ross was promoted to chief experience officer. Ross most recently served as vice president of marketing and has more than 35 years of experience in the credit union industry, including 15 years in executive leadership roles at Hughes. Her background includes leadership roles in sales, service, marketing and community engagement, with a focus on enhancing member experience and promoting long-term financial stability.

Paul Gordillo was promoted to vice president of information technology. Since joining Hughes in 2016, Gordillo has advanced through multiple technical and leadership roles. In his new role, Gordillo oversees enterprise systems, infrastructure operations and core technology initiatives, supporting the credit union’s commitment to innovation, security and operational excellence.

Valerie Fanelli was promoted to vice president of marketing. She previously served as brand and creative marketing manager and has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, public relations and community engagement. Her background includes leading brand initiatives, campaigns and community partnerships across multiple industries. Fanelli has served as the communications chair for Angel Charity for Children for the past three years.

EAST

The $861 million, Aston, Pa.-based Sun East Federal Credit Union hired AJ Filipas as chief lending and revenue officer. Filipas brings over 20 years of progressive leadership experience across consumer and commercial lending, product development and enterprise strategy. Prior to joining Sun East, he served as vice president, commercial and consumer Lending for Dover Federal Credit Union ($709 million, Dover, Del.). Throughout his career, Filipas has also served in various leadership roles at PenFed Credit Union ($29.3 billion, McLean, Va.), Currency Capital, Ally Financial, Wells Fargo Bank and JP Morgan Chase. He earned his MBA from Adelphi University in New York and is a Certified Associate in Project Management.

MIDWEST

The $3.1 billion, Muskego, Wis.-based Corporate Central Credit Union hired Israr Ahmad as software engineer – integration specialist. Ahmad brings more than 13 years of experience helping organizations connect systems, share data securely and build technology that supports reliable, real-time operations. In this new role, Ahmad will focus on building and maintaining the technology connections that allow credit unions, core systems, digital banking platforms and fintech partners to work seamlessly together. His work will support data sharing across key services such as payments, risk management, analytics and other critical operational functions.

SOUTH

The $1.2 billion, Pensacola, Fla.-based Gulf Winds Credit Union hired Jose Delgado as chief member experience officer. In his new role, Delgado will integrate Gulf Winds’ services and support systems to deliver a cohesive experience across all aspects of the member experience, ensuring exceptional service and innovative solutions for all members. Delgado brings over 31 years of experience with financial institutions, including leading branch and contact center transformations, enhancing organizational efficiency and fostering data-driven decision-making. He holds an executive MBA in marketing and business administration from Webster University in Missouri, and has served on the boards of the Tulsa Area United Way and American Heart Association.

VENDORS

MeridianLink, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of digital lending and account opening platforms for financial institutions and fintechs, hired Raj Patel as chief technology officer. Patel brings decades of experience scaling, transforming and innovating global technology platforms in enterprise SaaS and tier-one consumer companies. Most recently, he served as executive in residence for R&D at Permira, a global private and growth equity firm. Previously, Patel held senior leadership roles at Genesys, where he served as SVP and multi-cloud chief technology officer. His career also includes senior technology roles at Symantec, Pinterest, Salesforce, Cisco/Webex and Yahoo. In his new role, Patel will accelerate MeridianLink’s customer centric innovation, advancing AI-driven solutions and marketplace integrations that power credit unions and banks to grow, scale and serve their communities. Patel holds an MBA with Honors from the University of Southern California and completed the Director’s Consortium program at Stanford University. 

Sharetec, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based digital banking and core processing technology company serving credit unions, hired Rob Zelinka as chief information and security officer. Zelinka brings extensive experience in enterprise IT operations, including more than seven years as global CIO at Jack Henry. In his new role, he will focus on scalable architecture, system reliability and embedded security to support regulatory requirements and long-term platform sustainability and scalability. Zelinka will also oversee the security, resiliency and regulatory compliance of Sharetec’s digital and core processing platforms. He will also lead enterprise security strategy, safeguard sensitive member data and proactively manage emerging technology risks across the credit union ecosystem.

Blend Labs, a San Francisco-based origination platform provider for digital banking solutions, hired Matt Thomson as head of revenue. Thomson brings over 25 years of fintech sales leadership, including scaling go-to-market organizations. In his new role, he will lead Blend's sales organization and revenue strategy, overseeing efforts to expand the company's presence across financial institutions. He joins Blend following roles at Alkami Technology and ACI Worldwide, where he built sales teams and grew customer bases across community banks, credit unions and regional institutions. Thomson spent over a decade at Alkami Technology, and earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at P&H Solutions and ACI Worldwide. Brian Kneafsey, Blend's outgoing head of revenue, will move to an advisor role.

Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at natasha.chilingerian@arc-network.com.