Teresa Freeborn Announces Plans to Depart Kinecta Federal Credit Union

CU Industry Veteran and Advocate to Assume Active Role in Fashion Brand

News provided by

Dec 06, 2021, 18:40 ET

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Dec. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kinecta Federal Credit Union President Teresa Freeborn has announced that, effective December 31, she is leaving the role to dedicate more of her time to serving as Chair of Smash+Tess, a clothing company she founded in 2014 with daughter Ashley Freeborn.

"Up until now, my role has been largely silent as a some-time advisor and full-time proud mom," said Freeborn. "I really couldn't be prouder as the company has led a 'romper revolution' and continues to be on a steady success trajectory year over year. Now, I am looking forward to taking on a more active role in helping to grow the company and take it to the next level."

Freeborn noted that she is also working on a book that aims to draw insights from her four-decade career, "Over the years, many colleagues and friends have asked me to consider writing a book to share my insights, but there was never enough time," she said. "I'm excited now to have a concept that I think is going to be very helpful for other women who aspire to leadership, and for the credit union movement I love so much."

On behalf of Kinecta, CEO Keith Sultemeier thanked Freeborn for her service to Kinecta and tireless efforts to ensure a successful integration and system conversion following this year's merger with Xceed Financial Credit Union, for which Freeborn was President and Chief Executive.

"Kinecta is stronger now than it was before the Xceed merger, and well-diversified geographically," said Sultemeier. "Teresa was a fantastic partner throughout the process, and a fierce advocate for the well-being of all our members."

Freeborn noted her departure from Kinecta will be bittersweet, due to the multitude of close relationships she's developed over the years with both members and Xceed employees -- the majority of whom found new positions with Kinecta after the merger.

"Kinecta is a truly phenomenal credit union," Freeborn said. "It has been my privilege to be part of ensuring its strong and prosperous future. During this past year, I accomplished everything I wanted to in this role, on behalf of Xceed's members and our employees. With a successful integration behind us, Xceed members are in good hands, with employees who care about them, access to a larger branch network, better technology, and more competitively priced products and services than we could have provided had we stayed independent. Importantly, member feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, which is very satisfying for me. Now it's time for me to write my next chapter!"

Freeborn, a seasoned veteran and champion of the international credit union movement will continue her participation in industry initiatives including CUNA's Awareness program created to improve awareness and consideration of the credit union category, World Council of Credit Unions' Global Women's Leadership Network, and CU For Kids fundraising initiatives.

Through virtually her entire international credit union career, Freeborn has advocated for, been part of the genesis of, participated in, or led countless initiatives to foster and advance the core values of the credit union movement, most notably through many initiatives designed to improve the image and consideration of credit unions, and promote the advancement of women into leadership roles.

About Kinecta Federal Credit Union
Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country's 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.5 billion and over 270,000 member-owners. Our 800+ employees serve members from 32 branches, a variety of specialty offices, and highly responsive call centers on both coasts. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with recent expansion to Northern California, New York, and New Jersey, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products through the Credit Union and its subsidiaries, Kinecta Wealth Management and Kinecta Insurance Services. Daily Breeze readers have named Kinecta a top South Bay credit union for the past 10 years, and Kinecta was voted Easy Reader's 2020 "Best of the Beach" Credit Union.

SOURCE Kinecta Federal Credit Union