Join us on Thursday, June 22, 2023
Dear Affinity Member,
The 88th Annual Meeting of the Membership of Affinity Federal Credit Union will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 5:00 pm at 73 Mountainview Boulevard, Basking Ridge, NJ. During the business meeting, the election of Directors will take place and results will be announced.
The election of Directors will be conducted by mail ballot unless there is only one nominee for each position to be filled. In accordance with the Credit Union bylaws, when the number of nominees equals the number of vacancies, nominees are considered elected by general acclamation. If a mail ballot election is required, ballots will be mailed to eligible members by May 7, 2023. To be eligible to vote, members must have a minimum of $5 in a membership eligibility account, be at least 16 years of age and be a member in good standing as of March 31, 2023.
Nominations will not be accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting. Nominations for election may be made only by the Nominating Committee or by petition. Petitions for nomination must be signed by one percent of the Membership and accompanied by a signed certificate from the petitioner stating that he or she is agreeable to being nominated and will serve if elected. Each petitioner must also submit a statement of qualifications and biographical data with his or her petition. Completed petitions must be received by the Credit Union’s office at 73 Mountainview Boulevard, P.O. Box 621, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, by midnight May 12, 2023.
To be considered for a position on the Board, candidates must possess a strong willingness to serve, plus significant financial, managerial and leadership expertise. Each person must be willing to dedicate much of his or her time and energy to this volunteer position. For petition forms and additional information, contact the Office of the CEO, Affinity Federal Credit Union.
Nominating Committee members Chairman, Michael Rec, Directors John McGovern and Gregory T. Simpson served on the 2022-2023 Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee’s primary responsibility is to recommend candidates deemed most qualified to carry out the Credit Union mission. Nominees have been selected from those members who applied in response to the “Call for Volunteers” that went out to all Affinity Members late last year. Nominee selections were based upon demonstrated leadership qualities and their commitment to the goals of the Credit Union.
Sincerely,
Nancy Barone, Secretary
Affinity Federal Credit Union Board of Directors
The Nominating Committee has nominated the following individuals to serve on the Board of Directors.
Richard Meene, Chairman (Incumbent)
Rich Meene is a principal for the accounting firm of CohnReznick LLP. He works in the area of public sector contract management and business advisory working with fortune 50 companies through small businesses in navigating the highly regulated environment of public contracting. He is also the executive sponsor for his firm’s Employee Resource Group to support working professionals with disabilities. Rich’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Rich has been a member of Affinity for over 20 years and has been on the Affinity Board since 2014. Rich has been Chairman of the Board since 2022.
Roger Tashjian, Director (Incumbent)
Roger Tashjian is the founder and principal of 201 Marketing and Media, LLC a full-service marketing agency based in Oradell, NJ. 201 Marketing was recently named the 11th largest ad agency in the state by NJBiz Magazine. Additionally, he is a partner in The Bergen Realty Team where he handles the buying side of the business which has done over $100 million in sales in the past 2 years.
Outside of work, Roger is in his third term as a Councilman in Oradell and serves as an Adjunct Professor of business at Lehigh University. He resides in Oradell with his wife Jennifer and children Matthew and Olivia.
Roger been a member of Affinity for over 30 years. His formal education includes a B.S. in Marketing and Finance and M.B.A. Lehigh University. Roger has been serving on the Affinity Board since 2017.
Kumud Goyal, Director
Kumud Goyal is a business leader with 25+ years of experience in the Manufacturing industry. Currently she serves as Senior Vice President at Genomatica, a company focused on delivering low carbon solutions that minimize environmental impact. Over her career, Kumud has worked for small cap and Fortune 100 public and private companies actively driving business excellence in Strategy, Operations and Financial Performance.
Kumud holds BS & MS degrees in Engineering from Bombay University and Washington State University respectively, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kumud serves as a Board member for The Unscripted Project, a Philadelphia non-profit that delivers improv education to local community schools. She has been a member of Affinity since 2016.
Paola de Almeida, Nominee
Paola currently leads the Innovation function for Mars, Inc, a $40bn multinational food and services company operating in over 170 countries. She chairs its Innovation Leadership Team, partnering with business segments to drive the innovation agenda across the business. Her passion for innovation and business transformation, as well as her strategic mindset, can be seen throughout her career at Mars, having spent it developing and implementing strategic plans, M&A integration, insights and intelligence analysis, global governance methodology, next generation capabilities, and managing external partnerships, including the United Nations (Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme and World Health Organization), World Bank and African Union. She is a seasoned strategist and transformation officer now focused on the frontiers of innovation. Paola holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Anthropology from Rutgers University and graduate degrees in Project Management (Lehigh University), Negotiation and Strategic R&D Management (both from INSEAD).