ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–Robert Chavez, who has spent the past eight years as CEO at Sandia Laboratory FCU during a 22-year career with the CU, has officially retired.
As CUToday.info reported here in late 2021, Stephanie Sherrodd, the former CEO of Texas Dow Employees CU, has been named as Chavez’s successor.
"I'm leaving at a good time. We have a wonderful culture and an incredibly talented, dedicated team,” Chavez said in a statement. “We are growing our membership and responding to their needs. I know we will continue to be a trusted financial partner for our members and the communities we serve for decades to come.”
In a statement announcing the retirement, the credit union described Chavez as “beloved” and said he was so popular that he had not one but two separate retirement parties so that staff and the many community members and volunteers he worked with over the past two decades could give him a proper send-off.
‘Outstanding Job’
"He has done an outstanding job in moving our credit union forward and has assembled a high-performing team that will ensure SLFCU continues to develop and flourish by meeting the evolving needs of our members. We wish him and his family the very best during his well-deserved retirement," said SLFCU Board Chair Chuck Maheras.
A native of Albuquerque, Chavez earned his bachelor's degree at New Mexico State University, and his Master of Business Administration at the University of New Mexico.
Chavez began his financial career right out of college at Sunwest Bank of Albuquerque, spending 13 years at that financial institution and three years in private industry before joining SLFCU as VP-operations in 2000. At that time, the credit union had five branches, 170 employees, 45,000 members and $597 million in assets.
Chavez was named CEO in 2014.
Tripling of Membership
“Under his leadership, SLFCU has nearly tripled its membership to 132,000 with 12 branches in New Mexico and one in California,” the credit union said. “The credit union employs 394 staff members and holds more than $3.5 billion in assets.”
SLFCU reported that under Chavez’s tenure it has won numerous awards, including being named Best-In-State by Forbes for the last three years and consistently being ranked among the top credit unions for total financial return to members by Callahan and Associates.
"Our team continually strived to improve our offerings and how we delivered our products and services, and to make sure we were giving our members the best rate of return possible," he noted. "One of the things I'm really proud of was our Net Promoter score. Net Promoter measures customer experience and satisfaction as well as willingness to refer a business. The average bank has a 39% score, while credit unions typically achieve between 56-59%. SLFCU had a score of 76-77%.”
Numerous Milestones
SLFCU went on to add that “among milestones Chavez recalled during his tenure with SLFCU were successfully implementing business and commercial lending, expanding the credit union's home loan offerings and guiding a conversion from a ‘home grown’ core operating system that had been in place for 40 years to a more sophisticated operating system in 2017. That conversion, which was 18 months in the planning, was a turning point that allowed SLFCU to greatly expand its online and in-person services and products and streamline the way it does business.”
Looking forward, the credit union said Chavez said he intends to spend time with his wife and with his daughters, who live in Portland, Oregon, and Jackson Hole, Wyo. He hopes to put his experience in fly fishing school to good use, spend time improving his golf and pickle ball games and help one of his daughters remodel her newly purchased 60-plus-year-old home, the CU added.
Will Miss the People
"What I'll miss most is the people. We’ve gone through life's major challenges – marriages, the birth of children, and funerals – together. We've laughed and we've cried," Chavez said. "But I'll still be around because I'm a member of SLFCU and this is where my money is. I'll be dropping in."
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