SUMTER, S.C. –SAFE FCU has named Michael Baker as its new executive vice president. Baker, most recently vice president of operations, now oversees a broad range of the growing credit union’s services and operations.
Baker joined SAFE as a management trainee after graduation from the University of South Carolina with a degree in business management and marketing. Over the course of his career, he has served as a branch manager, led the facilities and security operations, and served eight years as vice president of branch administration, where he helped lead the expansion of SAFE’s presence across the Midlands.
He moved into the vice president of operations position in 2015. There he spearheaded SAFE’s embrace of the new video-enabled personal teller machines that the credit union has rolled out in Columbia and at the Continental Tire facility in Sumter.
Interestingly, Baker’s first exposure to SAFE and the credit union industry came as a teenager. He needed a loan to fix up his car, and obtained that $900 loan from SAFE.
“From the time Michael Baker joined SAFE, he has continually taken on greater and greater responsibilities, to our benefit,” said Darrell Merkel, president and CEO of SAFE Federal Credit Union. “We are confident that he will provide strong leadership in this new role, to drive our continued growth and expansion.”