TDECU has elected attorney and Dell Technologies executive Lavonne Burke as chair of its board of directors, making her the first woman to hold the position in the Houston-area credit union’s 71-year history.
Burke, who joined the TDECU board in 2023, brings experience across technology, law and corporate governance. Her appointment comes as the credit union continues investing in its digital capabilities while managing the cybersecurity, privacy and data-governance requirements that increasingly shape financial services operations.
She currently serves as a vice president at Dell Technologies, with expertise spanning cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, IT governance and intellectual property. Those areas give TDECU additional board-level experience around the technology infrastructure and risk controls supporting its digital strategy.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Lavonne for several years, and I’ve valued her leadership and strategic perspective,” TDECU President and CEO Isaac Johnson said. “As Chair, Lavonne will play a key role in guiding our board and supporting TDECU’s continued innovation and long-term value for our Members.”
For credit unions and other financial institutions, technology strategy has become closely connected with governance. Digital account access and other technology-driven services can improve efficiency and member experience, but they also increase the importance of protecting customer information, managing technology vendors and maintaining appropriate cybersecurity controls.
Burke’s combination of legal and technology experience gives the board perspective across those interconnected responsibilities as TDECU plans for longer-term growth.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Howard University, a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
TDECU also made two additional board appointments, adding experience in customer strategy, financial services, fintech and corporate governance.
Sandra Pineau-Boddison has been elected board secretary. She brings more than 35 years of experience across customer service, digital strategy and product marketing and previously served as senior vice president of customers at United Airlines.
At United, Pineau-Boddison was responsible for the end-to-end passenger journey and development of brand loyalty initiatives. She currently serves as partner and managing director of The Hayward Partnership and is CEO and founder of SPB Consulting LLC.
Her customer experience background provides TDECU with additional expertise in managing the interactions that shape consumer relationships across physical and digital channels. For financial institutions, that work increasingly requires coordination among technology platforms, service operations and loyalty strategies rather than treating individual customer touchpoints separately.
Pineau-Boddison holds an MBA from California State University, Long Beach, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas State University. She has also received an honorary doctorate from the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers.
Manolo Sánchez has also joined the TDECU board, bringing extensive banking, financial technology and public-company governance experience.
Sánchez currently serves as a director of Fannie Mae, Affirm, Stewart Information Services and Nomad Global. He previously served as chairman and CEO of BBVA Compass for more than a decade, overseeing the banking organization through a period of growth and transformation.
He is a Yale University graduate and holds master’s degrees in international relations from the London School of Economics and advanced European economics from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Sánchez also teaches a course on disruption in financial services at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business and advises fintech and blockchain startups.
The appointments broaden the board’s operating experience across several areas relevant to TDECU’s business, including banking, technology, cybersecurity, digital customer experience and governance.
For TDECU, the leadership changes come as financial institutions balance growth with increasingly complex technology and risk-management requirements. Burke’s election places a technology and legal executive at the head of the board, while Pineau-Boddison and Sánchez add consumer and financial-services expertise that can support oversight of the credit union’s next phase of development.
