Denver Community Credit Union announced that it has named two CEOs, Shane Silvernale and Tessa Bonfante, to succeed Carla Hedrick, who retired in March 2017, after 37 years at the credit union.
Silvernale has served as the credit union’s chief financial officer since 2005 and has also been a board member of the credit union’s fully owned mortgage organization, CU Lending Source, and as chair of the board of TriCue, a credit union technology organization. Bonfante has served as the credit union’s chief operating officer since 2007.
Denver Community CU noted that both Silvernale and Bonfante have been “key decision-makers supporting the healthy strategies of consistent growth, quality member service, and dedication to community.”
Helen Gibson, VP of marketing and education at Denver Community CU, told Credit Union Journal via email that while having two CEOs is not common, it is not unheard of either.
“Oracle, Whole Foods and Chipotle have used a co-CEO system in the United States,” she added. “It is more common in other countries, such as Germany. Two CEOs allows our organization to increase its reach as we intend to help our community ‘reach further’ in their financial goals.”
Under Hedrick’s tenure as president and CEO from 1991 to 2017, Denver Community CU’s asset size climbed from $46 million to $315 million. Hedrick was also known as an “advocate for credit unions,” supporting legislation on community charters and financial education in Colorado.
According to its call reports, Denver Community CU posted net income of about $686,000 in 2016, down from almost $1.8 million in the prior year.
