LYNN, Mass.–In the type of scenario unique to CUs, the fourth generation of one family is now leading a credit union at which his great-grandfather was an original board member.
Adam Sherman has been named as the new president/CEO of Brotherhood Credit Union.
According to the Cooperative Credit Union Association, Joseph Sherman served on the credit union’s original board at the time of its founding in 1934. Joseph was followed on the board by his son, Samuel Sherman, whose son James “Jim” Sherman began helping around the credit union when he was in second grade. Jim Sherman was eventually named president/CEO, and more than 50 years later he is now retiring, although he will continue to serve on the board.
Jim Sherman’s son is Adam H. Sherman, who began working at the credit union as a loan clerk and teller. After earning an Executive MBA from Suffolk University, Adam Sherman served credit unions as an audit manager for Anderson & French P.C.
“His heart, however, led him back to his Brotherhood family more than 20 years ago, first as operations assistant,” the CCUA said. “He next advanced to supervisor of finance & development, followed by CFO.”
Now, Adam Sherman has been named to lead Brotherhood Credit Union.
The Power of ‘Connection’
“When Jim ‘officially’ started at the credit union in 1970, the staff of four were truly multifunctional – everybody did a little bit of everything – and the credit union had not yet converted to computer processing,” noted the CCUA. “Now there are 18 employees and Brotherhood competes in a financial landscape dominated by the Internet and electronic access.
According to the CCUA report, the Shermans both believe in the power of personal connection. “’People work with me, not for me,’ (is) the basis of Jim’s management style, (and) has resulted in employee longevities of 20 – to 30-years,” the CCUA said. “Adam agrees, adding ‘a leader must trust the people he/she surrounds themselves with.’”