SAN JOSE, Calif. – Technology Credit Union unveiled its succession plan late Wednesday, announcing Barbara Kamm will retire as president and CEO and current CFO Todd Harris will take the helm of the $2 billion CU on May 16.
Kamm has led Tech CU for the past six years. She will remain on the board of directors and continue to be active in the local business community, the credit union said.
Harris currently serves as the CU's chief financial officer and chief administrative officer. He is an industry veteran with nearly 25 years' experience in financial services, including in the banking, credit union and leasing company sectors. Tech CU said he has been "instrumental" in leading a variety of key initiatives aimed at improving the member experience, including the implementation of both online and mobile banking systems, streamlining the lending process and creating a successful channel strategy.
"After six-plus years, it is now time for me to pass the reins to Todd Harris," Kamm said in a statement. "Todd has the experience, vision, leadership and knowledge of Tech CU that the organization requires. He understands the unique challenges facing our industry and is ready to take this company into the future. I have enjoyed working closely with him for over five years now, as we implemented and shaped Tech CU's strategic vision. With Todd at the helm, our board of directors and I feel confident that Tech CU will continue to succeed and grow."
Mical Atz Brenzel, chairman of Tech CU's board, said, "The board of directors expresses its sincerest thanks to Barbara Kamm for her outstanding leadership and direction of the credit union over the past six years, and we are very pleased that Barbara has decided to remain with us as a member of the board after her retirement as CEO. We chose Todd Harris as her successor after a careful and methodical selection process and unanimously agreed that Todd was the right person, with the right skills, talents, and perspective, for the job. We all look forward to working with him in this new role."
"I am honored to be named president and CEO of Tech CU, and to have had the opportunity to work with Barbara," said Harris. "Since joining the company, she has done an incredible job — restoring the company to profitability, growing our retail loan portfolio, building a strong management team, introducing a full range of commercial loans and adding wealth management to the company's portfolio of products. I am looking forward to continuing this legacy of growth — ensuring a great member experience."
Prior to joining Tech CU, Harris was CFO at Alliance Credit Union, where he successfully steered the company through the 2008 recession and back to profitability. Before Alliance, Harris was CFO for Pentech Financial Services. He also spent 12 years at Silicon Valley Bank, where he held the position of SVP finance and strategic planning.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Harris received his B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from San Jose State University. He was recently named to the board of directors for Joint Venture Silicon Valley and regularly provides commentary and insight to institutional regulators on numerous issues, including, most recently, the NCUA's risk-based capital rule proposals.
Tech CU serves approximately 75,000 members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including employees of such companies as Tesla, eBay, Applied Materials, Nvidia and Facebook.
In September 2012 Tech CU announced it was seeking to convert to a mutual savings bank charter. After months of member protests, pickets and an angry meeting, 70% of voting members cast votes opposing the plan to become a bank. Months later, Kamm offered Credit Union Journal an
