PenFed Credit Union, the nation's second-largest federal credit union, today announced the promotion of four leaders who will oversee home lending technology, the PenFed Foundation, payments and home lending operations:
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- Brian Kukwa, vice president of mortgage technology, has been promoted to senior vice president of home lending technology;
- Andrea McCarren, vice president of PenFed Digital, has been promoted to senior vice president of PenFed Digital and president of PenFed Foundation;
- Brad Patterson, vice president of payments, has been promoted to senior vice president of payments;
- Mary Rzucidlo, vice president of home loans, has been promoted to senior vice president of home loans operations and culture.
"As a CEO, one of my greatest privileges is promoting leaders from within," said PenFed President and CEO James Schenck. "These four individuals will be instrumental in providing best-in-class service for our members and supporting our nation's defenders through the PenFed Foundation."
Kukwa will be responsible for driving PenFed's mortgage digital transformation forward. Kukwa has worked as a leader in the mortgage industry for over 20 years and previously held roles at DHI mortgage, TIAA Bank and Bank of America. He received his bachelor's degree in computer information science from Cleveland State University.
McCarren will continue to lead PenFed Digital and will serve as the president of the PenFed Foundation, a national 501(c)3 founded by PenFed Credit Union. McCarren, a former television journalist and longtime advocate for veterans and military families, has been recognized with 25 Emmy Awards. A graduate of Vassar College, McCarren was honored as the national Digital Leader of the Year by PR News for innovation and impact on the world of social media for two years in a row.
Patterson has been leading PenFed's payment card, partner and infrastructure transformation for the past six years including the end-to-end overhaul elevating all aspects of product, processes, policies, platforms, operations, compliance, scheme/network strategies and strategic vendor oversight. In his new role, he will be directly responsible for every aspect of PenFed's credit, debit and global ATM business and was recently given additional duties to quickly streamline and modernize consumer banking's items processing team. Prior to PenFed, Patterson worked at Visa for 10 years leading the sales and partner relationship management for several of Visa's largest acquiring and global processing partners. Patterson holds a master's degree in business from Frostburg University and a bachelor's degree in business from Shepherd University.
Rzucidlo will continue to oversee PenFed's home loans operations, mortgage learning and development and mortgage communications. She will assume new responsibility for home loans business controls and member advocacy. Rzucidlo has over 30 years of experience with large financial institutions and previously held roles at Wells Fargo, USAA and South State Bank. Rzucidlo is a graduate of the College of Charleston.