Achieva Credit Union appoints Eric Jenkins as new CEO

Achieva Credit Union in Dunedin, Florida, announced a change of leadership on Thursday. It appointed Eric Jenkins as its new president and chief executive officer. Jenkins will be succeeding Gary Regoli, who is retiring after 17 years with the $2.9 billion-asset credit union.

“We are thrilled to welcome Eric Jenkins as our new president and CEO,” said Janet Cantees, chairperson at Achieva Credit Union. “With his extensive expertise in the credit union industry, we are confident in his ability to guide Achieva into its next chapter.”

Before coming to Achieva, Jenkins was the CEO of SRP Federal Credit Union in North Augusta, South Carolina. He also previously worked as the CEO of Education Credit Union in Amarillo, Texas and as chief deposit services officer for the $1.3 billion-asset Georgia United Credit Union.

When Regoli first joined Achieva, the credit union reported $3.6 million in net income for the year-to-date period ending in December 2007. Achieva’s net income subsequently grew to $16.3 million for the year-to-date period ending in December 2024, according to National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) call report data.

“Serving as CEO of Achieva Credit Union has been the honor of a lifetime,” Regoli said in a statement. “I am confident that under Eric’s leadership, Achieva will continue to thrive and make a positive impact in the communities we serve.”

This change in leadership is occurring prior to a finalized succession planning rule from the NCUA going into effect. The rule would mandate federally chartered credit unions to develop succession planning processes as the credit union industry faces a mass exodus of C-suite talent through retirement. The NCUA rule was approved late last year and will take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

The credit union acquired multiple financial firms such as community banks and an insurance company under Regoli’s leadership. Through these deals, Achieva joined the ranks of credit unions buying community banks in recent years, as a record high number of credit union/community bank M&A deals closed in 2024. In a recent research report from American Banker, acquisitions of traditional banks by credit unions are expected to continue increasing in 2025.

In June 2022 the credit union launched a bitcoin trading service on its mobile app, becoming the first credit union in Florida to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its members. The bitcoin service was shuttered in late 2023 when the credit union’s bitcoin partner, NYDIG, exited the credit union space and required current credit union members to sell off their bitcoin wallets and close their accounts.