Chris Shockley. Photo courtesy of VACU.
The number two at one of Richmond’s biggest financial institutions is ready to take the top seat.
Chris Shockley last week was named the next president and CEO of Virginia Credit Union. He’ll succeed VACU’s longtime leader Jane Watkins, who announced last summer she’d retire March 31 of this year.
Shockley, who grew up in Roanoke and earned a bachelor’s from Radford University and a master’s from Liberty University, has been with the credit union since 2003, after coming over from the banking side of the industry. He had stints at the former Dominion Bank in Roanoke, as well as First Union and Wachovia.
In his new position, he has seasoned shoes to fill. Watkins has been with VACU for 34 years, the last 16 of which were spent as CEO.
In an interview last week, Watkins looked back on her time at the credit union. The Richmond native and VCU graduate said she got her first taste of the credit union life in the late ‘70s while working as a CPA for a predecessor of KPMG.
She got to know VACU by doing audits for that firm and ultimately joined the credit union in 1982 as an accounting manager.
“I just really liked the environment here. It was even smaller in the late ‘70s. It was something contagious and made it fun to work.”
When she arrived full-time, the credit union had 38,000 members and $30 million in assets.
Today it has $2.9 billion in assets, 240,000 members and 17 branches around the state. It is among the biggest credit unions in Virginia and by far the biggest in Richmond.
Jane Watkins
Watkins said she can match milestones in her personal life to the trajectory of VACU.
“It’s like your whole life defined by different stages of the credit union,” Watkins said.
Watkins said technology has driven the biggest changes in the industry over the decades.
“It has taken down the geographic barriers that banking institutions once had,” she said.
Those changes have translated into challenges of finding the right mix of the best in modern services, while still maintaining personal service, she added.
“That’s the challenge: it’s a very competitive environment where everything has gone virtual, but still trying to keep it personal.”
In deciding to step aside, Watkins said that it was simply time to let the organization’s next generation take the helm.
“I felt like 34 years was a long career. I felt like I certainly had done the best I could for the credit union,” she said.
“But I also felt like I had people who were ready to move up. It was time, and I didn’t want to lose them. I felt like the credit union would benefit from their leadership.”
VACU hired search firm O’Rourke & Associates to scour for a replacement for Watkins, who said she wasn’t involved in the interview process.
In the end, VACU found its man in-house, and Watkins said that’s the direction she was hoping it would go. Shockley, 45, has been in VACU’s number-two position of executive vice president since 2007.
“He’s really been stepping in and out of the role for a while,” Watkins said. “Chris is a great leader, a great developer of people.”
As for Watkins’ next step, she made clear she won’t sit idle.
“I would entertain an interesting career change,” she said. “I still want to work. I don’t know what that will be. Everybody is giving me advice.”
Chris Shockley. Photo courtesy of VACU.
The number two at one of Richmond’s biggest financial institutions is ready to take the top seat.
Chris Shockley last week was named the next president and CEO of Virginia Credit Union. He’ll succeed VACU’s longtime leader Jane Watkins, who announced last summer she’d retire March 31 of this year.
Shockley, who grew up in Roanoke and earned a bachelor’s from Radford University and a master’s from Liberty University, has been with the credit union since 2003, after coming over from the banking side of the industry. He had stints at the former Dominion Bank in Roanoke, as well as First Union and Wachovia.
In his new position, he has seasoned shoes to fill. Watkins has been with VACU for 34 years, the last 16 of which were spent as CEO.
In an interview last week, Watkins looked back on her time at the credit union. The Richmond native and VCU graduate said she got her first taste of the credit union life in the late ‘70s while working as a CPA for a predecessor of KPMG.
She got to know VACU by doing audits for that firm and ultimately joined the credit union in 1982 as an accounting manager.
“I just really liked the environment here. It was even smaller in the late ‘70s. It was something contagious and made it fun to work.”
When she arrived full-time, the credit union had 38,000 members and $30 million in assets.
Today it has $2.9 billion in assets, 240,000 members and 17 branches around the state. It is among the biggest credit unions in Virginia and by far the biggest in Richmond.
Jane Watkins
Watkins said she can match milestones in her personal life to the trajectory of VACU.
“It’s like your whole life defined by different stages of the credit union,” Watkins said.
Watkins said technology has driven the biggest changes in the industry over the decades.
“It has taken down the geographic barriers that banking institutions once had,” she said.
Those changes have translated into challenges of finding the right mix of the best in modern services, while still maintaining personal service, she added.
“That’s the challenge: it’s a very competitive environment where everything has gone virtual, but still trying to keep it personal.”
In deciding to step aside, Watkins said that it was simply time to let the organization’s next generation take the helm.
“I felt like 34 years was a long career. I felt like I certainly had done the best I could for the credit union,” she said.
“But I also felt like I had people who were ready to move up. It was time, and I didn’t want to lose them. I felt like the credit union would benefit from their leadership.”
VACU hired search firm O’Rourke & Associates to scour for a replacement for Watkins, who said she wasn’t involved in the interview process.
In the end, VACU found its man in-house, and Watkins said that’s the direction she was hoping it would go. Shockley, 45, has been in VACU’s number-two position of executive vice president since 2007.
“He’s really been stepping in and out of the role for a while,” Watkins said. “Chris is a great leader, a great developer of people.”
As for Watkins’ next step, she made clear she won’t sit idle.
“I would entertain an interesting career change,” she said. “I still want to work. I don’t know what that will be. Everybody is giving me advice.”