Kiyomi Chandra has joined UVA Community Credit Union as its new Chief Human Resources Officer. The appointment marks a significant hiring decision for the Central Virginia institution, bringing in leadership from the banking sector to bolster its internal structure. Chandra brings more than two decades of combined business and human resources experience to the role.
Background at Wells Fargo
Kiyomi Chandra’s most recent role was Lead Human Resource Business Partner at Wells Fargo. In this capacity, the executive spearheaded transformation and operating-model initiatives across the lending, card, and branch networks. The executive served as a key advisor to senior leaders on growth and restructuring strategies, helping to align talent, organizational structure, risk, and controls across multiple markets and regions.
Before taking on that position, Chandra spent more than seven years as a Senior Human Resources Consultant. In that role, the professional acted as a strategic thought partner to senior business leaders regarding workforce strategy and organizational design. Chandra led enterprise HR initiatives aimed at integrating talent, performance, and rewards practices, while also developing cross-channel partnership models to improve collaboration and execution throughout the organization.
Chandra also served as Affluent Segment Leader, where she directed regional growth strategy across priority markets. During this time, the executive developed a scalable segment model that was adopted across multiple regions. Earlier in her tenure at the bank, Chandra was the Regional Private Bank Manager for Nevada. In that role, Chandra oversaw growth across the state, helping deliver year-over-year deposit growth of 16% and loan growth of 9%. Chandra expanded the private banking team from seven to 18 professionals during this period.
She started in branch leadership. Progressing through increasingly senior responsibilities over two decades, Chandra eventually took on more complex challenges. Throughout this time, Chandra combined business leadership with HR strategy and workforce transformation, becoming a strategic partner to large-scale teams.
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Moving from a massive banking conglomerate to a member-owned financial institution requires a distinct shift in operational focus. While large banks often prioritize rapid financial scaling and shareholder returns, credit unions operate on a membership-driven model centered on service and local community impact. The move suggests that UVA Community Credit Union is looking to leverage her experience in high-volume growth strategies while adapting them to the relationship-based model of a cooperative financial organization.
UVA Community Credit Union
At UVA Community Credit Union, Chandra will focus on human capital management and organizational transformation. The organization is one of Central Virginia’s largest locally owned financial institutions, serving more than 76,000 members.
Founded in 1954, the credit union returns earnings to members through lower loan rates and higher deposit dividends rather than paying stockholders. It emphasizes a people-helping-people philosophy and has been recognized by a readers’ choice poll as the Best Financial Institution in Central Virginia every year since 2007.
Her move to the credit union marks a new chapter where she will apply her skills in workforce strategy and leadership development to a not-for-profit entity. The institution is focused on strengthening both its workforce and the communities it serves, aiming to improve members’ financial well-being through education and empowerment.
