Jennifer Maxfield started her career in the advertising and marketing industry, exactly where she wanted to be. One of her first accounts was a credit union, and although she says she never envisioned herself working in a client-side marketing role, she’s now senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Tampa-based GTE Financial, one of the largest credit unions in Florida, with more than 230,000 members and $2.86 billion in total assets.
Prior to joining GTE nearly 12 years ago, Maxfield says she bought into the misconception that banks and credit unions were “stodgy” institutions that aren’t innovative.
“I had an advertising degree, and I was very passionate about marketing and communications,” she says. “What’s kept me at GTE is I absolutely love working in the nonprofit, financial institution space, because you get the opportunity to do big things and help people improve their lives, either with an affordable loan or getting them started with their first checking account. These are important, big things in life that our credit union helps members with all the time.”