Jim Petkewich

Jim Petkewich
President and Chief Executive Officer, St. Mary’s Credit Union
Age: 66
Industry experience: 43 years

Jim Petkewich started 2024 as the executive vice president and COO of St. Mary’s Credit Union, then served as interim president and CEO for two months in the summer until the credit union hired Grace Lee, when he returned to his EVP/COO duties. Lee departed after less than a year, and the credit union decided to look no further for its next CEO than the man who already the experience.

Petkewich joined the credit union in 2006 after 20 years working for banks. He appreciates the credit union’s involvement in the community and feels that those community roots are beneficial in an industry with rising levels of consolidation and acquisition.

With 20 years of experience at the credit union – and a year of CEO duty – Petkewich is ready to tackle the top job.

Q: What drew you to St. Mary’s Credit Union earlier in your career?

JP: I’ve been in banking over 40 years and at St. Mary’s for more than 20 years, but most of my banking career has been in the Metro West area. I started at Bay Bank, and then I worked at Metro West Bank in Framingham, and that’s probably my first time really getting to know St. Mary’s. A lot of times we’d have a St. Mary’s member come to Metro West Bank because they needed something that day, and we could never sell them on bringing their relationship to us, because they would always tell us how much they love the credit union. At the time I played football in Marlborough and was familiar with the credit union that way as well. So in late 2005 I had a call with the CEO at the time, and I knew him from the chamber, and he had an opening as they needed a head of retail banking, and the rest is history.

Q: What was the experience like taking over as a leader in what was seemingly a sudden change?

JP: We had a CEO retire in 2019. Our next CEO, she had an opportunity at a larger place, and when that happened, I became the interim CEO for 13 months. So when [Grace Lee] joined last summer, no one envisioned it was going to be a short time, but the fact that it wasn’t that far removed, made the transition easier coming back in as the president and CEO.

Q: What about a credit union makes it beloved by its customers and how is it able to create those meaningful relationships?

JP: Among other things, we can take a longer term view of things. We don’t have a quarter to quarter performance requirement for shareholders. All our focus is on our members. We have tremendous loyalty from our membership, and we have a long-term employee base here that has grown up with the credit union and in the credit union, so we’re part of the community. Our people live in the community, and when someone has a need, they know who to call.

Q: During your time as interim president and CEO, how will that help you as you take over?

JP: When I was interim, one of the things that I realized at the time was I loved my job before I was COO, and before I was interim. I loved what I did. When I became the interim, I realized that I was built for this.

Q: How does being able to have a longer-term lens aid in making a positive merger acquisition?

JP: There’s consolidation across the financial services industry, and the need for scale is increasingly important in the credit union world. In our case, the merger we have that’s right around the corner with Metro West Credit Union is an opportunity for Metro West to look for a partner that could continue the service that they’ve provided for years to come in a more challenging space for a credit union of their size.

Q: When you look the community institutions, how do you feel they’ll be able to compete against some of those larger names?

JP: Well, I think more and more is we’re in the communities that we serve. The more consolidation that happens at the larger financial institutions, the more removed they are from the local communities. So every time a bank merger occurs that creates a local void, we become a bigger and more important player in the community.

Q: How are you looking to improve on what the credit union’s already been able to accomplish?

JP: We have this merger we’re going to complete on July 1, and we have to convert the systems by next February. Strategically, growth is important to us, but it’s managed and achievable growth that’s sustainable. Digital transformation and making sure that we’re offering our members the digital products that they want and need. And keeping up with the changes in the pace of technology is something that we constantly talk about.

Q: How valuable can it be combine when we’re seeing the cost of technology continuing to rise?

JP: It’s extremely important, as none of that technology is cheap, and a lot of smaller organizations don’t have the means to replace what they currently have or upgrade what they currently have, so to provide the breadth of services needed, scale is really important.

Petkewich’s Five Favorite Favorites

• Sport: Football
• Community Event: Any event Bob Kays [chairperson for Evening of Giving] asks me to help with
• Patriots Super Bowl Victory: The first one against the Rams
• Golf Trip: Pebble Beach
• Favorite Book: Whichever one my granddaughter asks me to read

Editor’s Note: The June 22, 2026 issue of Banker & Tradesman incorrectly identified Jim Petkewich as the president and CEO of St. Mary’s Bank. He is the president and CEO of St. Mary’s Credit Union. We regret the error.