Somerset, Mass. – January 7, 2021 – The Somerset Federal Credit Union (SFCU) today announced that Pamela Mello will retire as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 15, 2021. Joseph Lajoie, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Greenwood Credit Union in Warwick, RI, will fill the role of President-CEO as of January 11, 2021.
Mello has been SFCU’s President and CEO since March 2015. During her tenure, her vision led to the rebranding of SFCU to align it more with the image of the credit union… an institution with deep ties to the community helping to provide financial freedom and positive change in their members’ lives.
Prior to joining SFCU, she was with the McCoy Federal Credit Union in Orlando, FL, a multi-branch institution where she held senior management positions for 21 years and rose to the position of Vice President of Operations and Risk Management.
“The experience of coming back home to southeastern Massachusetts and working at a smaller credit union has been rewarding,” said Mello. “I had the pleasure of working with a fabulous team and getting to know all the employees and members. More importantly, it has been gratifying to serve the members of our community and help people with their personal finances and home repairs by offering low-interest small dollar loans that most banks don’t offer.”
Joseph Lajoie, a resident of Cumberland, RI, joins the SFCU with over 20 years of experience in banking and finance, with most of his career at credit unions. He has been with Greenwood Credit Union since 2007, where he started as Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer and was promoted in 2017 to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing the finance, IT, loan, and deposit operations departments.
Lajoie previously served as Assistant Vice President/Controller at Navigant Credit Union in Smithfield, RI, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the accounting department. He is a 1994 summa cum laude graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree. He has also achieved the certified chief executive officer designation from the Credit Union Executive Society.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to lead a long-standing institution with a reputation for providing exemplary service to its members,” said Lajoie. “With the support of SFCU’s members, employees and Board of Directors, I look forward to building on Pamela’s success with introducing innovative products and leading the Credit Union to even higher achievements in providing banking solutions to our members.”
Michael Rezendes, Chair of the SFCU Board of Directors said, “On behalf of SFCU, I would like to recognize Pamela’s tremendous contributions to our operating performance and growth, which have benefited from her leadership and her drive to deliver the best solutions for our members. We are pleased to appoint an equally strong leader such as Joseph to succeed her as President-CEO. With his wealth of experience, he is well-equipped for leading us into the future and building upon what Pamela has accomplished.”
