Andrew Gabriel '13

Direct Federal Credit Union has announced the promotion of Andrew Gabriel '13 to the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer.

Gabriel joined Direct Federal in March 2020 and was a key contributor to the credit union’s core conversion project that year. His dedication and commitment to excellence quickly caught the attention of Direct Federal leadership, and in 2021, he earned the prestigious Leadership Award.

In 2022, Gabriel joined the credit union’s senior leadership team and began overseeing business applications, digital experience and project management. Since then, he has demonstrated a profound understanding of how internal operations impact members and member-facing departments, proactively implementing systems to minimize any disruptions.

In 2023, Gabriel assumed leadership of strategic deployment and took the lead on key aspects of the strategic planning process in collaboration with the broader senior leadership team, helping to ensure the timely implementation and measurement of all critical strategic projects.

In his new role, Gabriel will be responsible for leading the IT, business applications, project management and deposit servicing departments. His primary focus will be on enhancing operational efficiency and fostering collaboration between these departments and across the entire organization. He will continue to oversee the credit union's steadfast adoption of Lean methodology, driving efficiency and excellence throughout the organization.

An applied mathematics major at UCLA, Gabriel began his career in lending at a credit union in California, and his unique perspective has always prioritized cross-functional processes that are accurate, efficient and collaborative. Having recently celebrated 20 years in the credit union industry, Gabriel looks forward to a long and prosperous tenure with Direct.

Joe Walsh, president and CEO at Direct Federal said: "Andrew's promotion to senior vice president and chief operating officer is not just a recognition of his exceptional talent, but also a testament to his unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and root cause analysis. His relentless pursuit of excellence has been a driving force behind our credit union's success, and we do not doubt that he will continue to lead us to even greater heights in this new role."