Charles "Chuck" Fagan

President & CEO, VELERA (FORMERLY PSCU), ST. PETERSBURG

Formerly named PCSU, the company rebranded as Velera in May 2024. It’s a credit union service organization and a financial technology solutions provider that serves 2,400 financial institutions in the U.S., representing more than 7.7 billion transactions annually. Founded 45 years ago, the company has more than 5,000 employees throughout the country. Fagan has been president and CEO since 2015.

EDUCATION: Longwood University (BBA)

MENTOR: Jane Watkins, the retired president and CEO of Virginia Credit Union. Jane hired me right out of college, and from that point on, has been someone that I can always go to for insight and perspective. Her even-temperedness has helped shape my own leadership style over the years. Jane served as a member of our company’s board of directors until her retirement in 2016, and we still stay in touch.

READING: I’m a big fan of CEO Excellence, which was written by three senior partners at McKinsey who conducted detailed interviews with 67 high-performing CEOs. I regularly share content from this book, and the framework that it establishes for performance evaluation, with my colleagues.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: The late dean of my college’s business school always said, ‘The God of business is performance.’ That has stuck with me and motivated me throughout my life.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED
“The single most valuable lesson I’ve learned — in both life and business — is from my Dad: ‘Promise what you can deliver and work hard to deliver more than you promised.’”