Golden 1's Heather Andrade-Neumann keeps the credit union's employees connected

The Sacramento Business Journal presents the C-Suite Awards every year to recognize executives who have left their mark in their organizations and the business community. The honor, formerly known as the CFO of Year, has now been expanded to include all members of C-suite. This is the profile of this year’s honoree.

Heather Andrade Neumann has been a member of Golden 1 Credit Union since years.

She is now the executive vice president, chief people officer.

Andrade-Neumann was excited to join the executive leadership team of Golden 1 in 2018.

Golden 1 Credit Union was founded in Sacramento, California in 1933. It has over 1,000,000 members and 70 branches. There are also over 2,000 staff. According to Andrade Neumann, it's the seventh largest credit union in the country and one of the biggest in California.

She manages 65 employees in her daily life, something Andrade Neumann is familiar with, thanks to her years of experience as a HR professional for Hewlett Packard, among other Fortune 500 companies.

Andrade Neumann stated, "I am responsible for all human resource functions within our various roles, including enterprise development, internal communications and employee relations. This is crucial to ensuring that we remain connected."

Donna Bland, CEO of Golden 1 says that Andrade-Neumann's strength is her ability to connect.

Bland stated that'she not only leads by example and is a role model, but has a style that really makes people feel like they are part of something larger and have meaning and purpose in the work we do'.

Bland stated that 56% of the leadership positions in their company were filled by employees last year, which is something Andrade Neumann supports.

Bland stated that she is a strong advocate of employee engagement within the organization. She is very focused on the development of employees and upskilling them so they can be career-oriented within the company.

Golden 1 Credit Union was named a Forbes Top State Employer four years in a row and American Banker's Best Credit Union for Work two years in a row. Bland says that this is a testament of the culture Andrade Neumann helped to create.

Heather helps create a care culture, where not only do we care about our employees but also our employees care about our members', she said. "For employees to provide exceptional service, they must feel valued."

Andrade Neumann believes that for employees to feel valued their voices need to be heard and represented. She stated that one of her greatest accomplishments was the creation of Golden 1's values.

Andrade-Neumann added that the next step is to establish a diversity council. "That was a result of all the work we did with DEI, and I am really proud of that."

Bland says that Golden 1 has always had a culture of inclusivity. However, in recent years, Andrade-Neumann has been spearheading the incorporation of DEI into its programs.

Bland stated that Heather creates an inclusive, positive working environment by nature. She doesn't need to put in much effort.

Age: 53

Family: Married for 21 years to her husband. They have three labs, affectionately called 'the Boys'.

Golden Gate University – Masters in human resource management

What is your dream career?

"I am doing my dream job, but I was a paleontologist as a child." I thought I'd discover the next great dig.

I have a wicked humor. I think that you should be in HR.