Caren Gabriel, longtime president and chief executive of
Gabriel, who joined the $3.8 billion-asset institution in 1985 as a staff attorney and took the helm in 2004, will step down as president and CEO on April 7. Matt Jernigan, who according to his
"I'm supremely confident the organization will continue to grow and thrive under Matt's leadership. … He was one of my first hires after being named CEO and we have worked closely together for some time," Gabriel said in a press release Monday. "He is well-prepared to lead Ascend into the promising future that lies ahead."
Under Gabriel's leadership, the credit union has grown from $960.3 million of assets, 12 branches and 117,000 members to roughly $3.8 billion of assets, 27 branches and more than 255,000 members today.
"We will truly miss Caren and owe her much gratitude for her years of service to Ascend," Pat Eagan, chairman of the Ascend board of directors, said in the release. "We are excited to have Matt take the helm April 8 [as] his 17 years working alongside Caren and his performance as a credit union leader gives us great confidence that he is extremely qualified and ready to assume the position as Ascend's new president and CEO."
