EXTON, Pa., Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Citadel Credit Union, a not-for-profit, member-owned financial institution, today announced a realignment of its senior leadership structure designed to strengthen accountability, accelerate decision-making, and expand the organization's capacity to serve members, businesses, and communities across a growing regional footprint.
The structure aligns Citadel's eight-member Senior Leadership Team around distinct but closely connected capabilities spanning growth, banking and lending, operations, risk, people and culture, wealth management, finance, and technology.
Since 2018, Citadel has grown from approximately $3 billion to $7.1 billion in assets and now serves nearly 300,000 members across 25 branches. Earlier this year, Citadel expanded membership eligibility throughout Pennsylvania and six neighboring states, creating opportunities to serve more individuals, families, and businesses across a broader region. In 2026, it also opened its first Philadelphia branch in Overbrook Park and advanced plans for two additional Philadelphia locations in Cedar Park and Hunting Park, both scheduled to open in 2027.
The credit union is also investing in a broader renovation program across its existing branch network. The improvements are designed to modernize its physical locations, strengthen the experience for members and employees, and ensure each branch can support the evolving ways members choose to bank.
Growth has extended beyond Citadel's retail footprint. The credit union has entered SBA lending and closed a record $50 million commercial real estate loan for 2000 Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. The largest commercial loan in Citadel's history, the transaction demonstrated Citadel's ability to source, originate, and lead larger, more complex financing opportunities.
"Citadel has more than doubled in size, and our leadership model has to reflect the institution we've become and the one we are building," said Bill Brown, President and CEO of Citadel Credit Union. "Scale alone is not the destination. Our goal is to build one of the greatest member-owned financial institution, with the leadership depth, financial strength, and operating discipline to serve members better, enter new markets responsibly, and create lasting value for every community we serve."
A Leadership Structure Built for Scale
Courtney Rowan, Chief Growth Officer Rowan leads Citadel's new Growth organization, bringing together digital strategy, product strategy, marketing strategy, and marketing service delivery. The unified structure strengthens how Citadel identifies opportunities, develops products that meet members' evolving needs, delivers connected experiences, attracts new members, deepens relationships, and improves retention.
Michael Desimone, Chief Banking & Lending Officer Desimone leads Citadel's relationship banking strategy, connecting retail strategy, sales, expansion, commercial banking, lending, insurance, and real estate. His organization is focused on helping more individuals and businesses choose Citadel as their primary financial institution by providing connected banking and lending solutions throughout the relationship.
The combined organization also strengthens leadership and accountability across retail banking, consumer and small business lending, commercial underwriting, and Citadel's broader lending platform.
Don Scala, Chief Operations Officer Scala leads Citadel's Operational Center of Excellence, which includes business transformation, the Call Center, Member Experience, facilities, and the operations and controls supporting retail, commercial banking, payments, and lending. Bringing these functions together strengthens coordination, reduces handoffs, simplifies processes, and supports more consistent execution across the organization.
Facilities & Property Strategy is also part of Scala's organization, creating a direct connection among branch expansion, property planning, renovations, and operational execution. This alignment supports Citadel's investment in modernizing branches across its footprint to create better environments for members and employees.
Chris Palumbo, Chief Risk Officer Palumbo's organization brings Information Security together with Fraud, Compliance, Collections, Enterprise Risk Management, Technology & Data Risk, and Governance, Advisory & Assurance. The structure creates a more unified view of risk and strengthens coordination across cybersecurity, fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and enterprise oversight.
Dean Sanders, Citadel's Chief Information Security Officer, now reports to Palumbo and continues leading the Information Security function. This alignment strengthens Citadel's ability to protect its members, employees, assets, systems, and reputation as the organization grows.
Bonnie Levitt, Chief People & Culture Officer Levitt leads Citadel's People, Culture & Community organization. In addition to Human Resources and Talent Development, she oversees Enterprise Communications, Philanthropy & Community Engagement, and Organizational Change Management.
Connecting these functions strengthens how Citadel attracts, retains, and develops employees, communicates its priorities, navigates change, builds culture, and shares its community impact.
Anand Solanki, Chief Financial Officer Solanki joined Citadel in 2018, when the credit union held approximately $3 billion in assets, and has helped guide its financial strategy through a period of significant growth. He continues to lead Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, Accounting, Strategy, and Customer Insights & Analytics while overseeing Citadel's Credit Union Service Organization, or CUSO, strategy and strategic business ventures.
Citadel's CUSO strategy will explore opportunities to build, buy, partner with, or invest in businesses that expand capabilities, create sustainable sources of income, and potentially provide valuable services to other credit unions. Bringing this work into Finance allows Citadel to evaluate new opportunities through a consistent financial and strategic lens.
Sheri Perkins, Chief Wealth Officer Perkins leads Citadel Wealth Management and its strategy to help members build wealth, prepare for retirement, and achieve greater financial confidence throughout their lives.
Building on expanded retirement plan capabilities, investments in advisor technology, and stronger client engagement, Perkins and her team are focused on increasing awareness, recruiting and developing advisors, deepening client relationships, and reaching new clients through referrals and strategic partnerships.
Eric Skinner, Chief Information Officer Skinner leads IT Operations, Infrastructure, Technology, and Citadel's Enterprise Project Management Office. His organization is responsible for maintaining the reliable technology foundation Citadel depends on each day while developing future capabilities across software engineering, enterprise data, architecture, artificial intelligence, automation, and technology platforms.
The structure creates clearer ownership for operational reliability, infrastructure, modernization, and project delivery while maintaining one enterprise technology strategy.
Growth With Purpose
Citadel's leadership model is designed to support both organic growth and strategic opportunities, including new capabilities, partnerships, investments, and potential combinations that can extend the benefits of its member-owned model to more people and communities.
The structure gives Citadel the leadership depth, financial capacity, operational infrastructure, risk discipline, and technology foundation needed to integrate new capabilities responsibly while preserving the local relationships and community connections that distinguish credit unions.
"Growth must create meaningful value for members," Brown said. "Whether we are opening a branch, investing in a new capability, forming a partnership, or evaluating a strategic combination, the standard is not simply whether we can grow. It is whether we can integrate well, preserve what communities value, and invest for long-term success."
That approach is reflected in investments across Philadelphia, commercial banking, wealth management, technology, branch modernization, and employee development are designed to build an institution capable of serving more members without losing the relationships, responsiveness, and community commitment at the heart of the credit union model.
The new leadership structure provides clearer ownership and a more direct connection between strategy and execution. Together, Citadel's eight leadership capabilities position the credit union to enter new markets, deepen consumer and business relationships, expand access to financial services, and pursue future opportunities from a position of financial and organizational strength.
About Citadel Credit Union
Citadel Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial institution providing banking, investment, and insurance services to more than 295,000 members. With approximately $7.1 billion in assets and 25 branches, Citadel is one of the Greater Philadelphia region's largest credit unions, serving individuals, families, and businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania, with membership eligibility throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states, including Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia. Headquartered in Exton, PA, Citadel is recognized in Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group's 2025 list of America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions and is an eight-time certified Great Place To Work. For more information, visit CitadelBanking.com. Federally insured by NCUA.