MELBOURNE, Fla. – Space Coast Credit Union is pleased to announce the promotion of two people.
Heather Hickman has been named chief of retail delivery and executive vice president. Hickman began her career at SCCU in 1992 as a teller at the Rockledge branch. She ascended through the branch ranks as assistant manager, branch manager, and then retail director in 2002.
As retail director, Hickman was instrumental in conceiving and implementing a new branch role that consolidated the teller and member service specialist into a single universal member service representative. This change enabled the credit union to optimize staffing for greater efficiency and expand its branch network, which now totals 57 locations along Florida’s east coast.
In 2009 SCCU merged with Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union and Hickman was largely responsible for bringing the two company cultures together. The expansion into Broward and Miami-Dade doubled the credit union size overnight. Hickman was soon promoted to vice president of retail services to oversee its new branch footprint spanning eight counties from Flagler to Miami-Dade.
In June of 2013, Hickman was promoted to senior vice president of retail branch administration, and she assumed responsibility for SCCU’s member services call center, e-service, financial services businesses services.
In her new role, in addition to continuing to oversee the credit union’s retail and member service efforts, Hickman will now lead the credit union’s consumer sales channels, including indirect lending, which were responsible for $1 billion in combined auto loan production last year.
“Heather’s career serves as a testament to the professional growth possibilities at SCCU,” said Timothy M. Antonition, SCCU president and CEO. “She has demonstrated the ability to rally people, build fiercely loyal teams and has been a trusted advisor. Both retail delivery and our membership as a whole are in good hands with her at the helm.”
Space Coast Credit Union said it is also pleased to announce the appointment of J. Alan Lewis to chief operating officer and executive vice president.
Lewis joined SCCU in November of 2012 as vice president of information services, bringing with him over 20 years of management experience in the financial services industry.
Lewis quickly proved to be an essential member of SCCU’s executive team, as he worked to develop an infrastructure that both elevated the information systems division and streamlined processes within the credit union for the benefit of SCCU members.
In 2014 Lewis was promoted to senior vice president of information systems and he added SCCU’s operations department to his responsibilities. It was also around this time that Lewis guided the credit union through an upgrade of its core systems, an immense project that spanned three years. Under his leadership, SCCU successfully converted its core system to the new DNA platform in November of 2016, and it simultaneously implemented cutting-edge Vblock technology.
Shortly thereafter, Lewis’ responsibilities were expanded once again, adding card services and business intelligence, a newly created division.
As chief operating officer, Lewis will be responsible for leading and managing the credit union’s daily operations, including information services, operations, loan processing, loan servicing, and collections.
“Over the years Alan has proven himself a trusted advisor among executive management,” said Antonition. “I appreciate that Alan is always focused on the needs of the membership and the business of running the credit union. I know that Alan will continue to lead us to unchartered territories.”