CAREER CENTER >> success stories

Leonard Pinault '87, '98 MS
Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Sales & Service • Nations Heritage Federal Credit Union

The banking industry has been significantly affected by the 40 years of work of Leonard Pinault. Beginning his career in 1967 as a return check teller, Lennie, as he calls himself, learned the ins and outs of the business of handling other people’s money. Promoted to branch manager, he took over an operation in its infancy and grew the deposits in the bank to more than $25 million dollars in just five short years. Being bank manager at this time gave Pinault the opportunity to be a part of one of the first bank mergers of a federally chartered national bank and a state chartered commercial bank, in the state of Massachusetts in 1974. Later in his career, Lennie became President/CEO of Foxboro National Bank where he oversaw all operations of the bank including
Insurance, Finance, and Real Estate.

In his current role as chief operating officer and vice president of sales and service at NationsHeritage Federal Credit Union, Pinault has overseen the acquisition and renovation of the new corporate headquarters in Mansfield, Mass. When completed in the summer of 2007, the building will house a full service branch, corporate offices and rental space. Beyond the day-to-day management of renovation and construction, Lennie is also responsible for overall control of functions related to operations, member services, lending and collections for the credit union. He serves as an instrumental part of the senior management team for the credit union by helping to define policy and develop strategic and tactical plans for the thriving business.

Returning to the university in 1996, Lennie set out to obtain his master’s degree in business administration from the Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School. Through Lennie’s education, he received one of the most rewarding elements that he ever encountered — when two of his faculty members asked him to speak each week about his bank to fellow students in regards to overall operations and management. With his education in hand, Lennie also learned the overall effectiveness of the techniques necessary of negotiating effectively to sell a bank.

Lennie shares his home with his wife Linda and enjoys playing golf, serving as Police Commissioner for the City of Attleboro, and lending his expertise to community organizations such as the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce, the Kennedy-Donovan Center, and the Hockomock YMCA.

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