Earthmover Credit Union recently named lifelong Oswego resident and OH alum Janel Cabadas as their new CEO, after 20 years building her career at the credit union. She served as Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for over seven years before becoming Executive Vice President in 2024.
“I don’t think there was a single role that prepared me for this position,” Cabadas said. “Instead, it was a cumulative set of experiences that ultimately made me feel ready.”
“Some impactful moments that pushed me outside my comfort zone and still stand out in my memory include hiring my first employee, managing someone I didn’t hire, holding my first strategic session, getting a new boss, and leading my first company‑wide initiative. Each of these moments required me to lead, communicate clearly, and follow through. It truly takes time and experience.”
The credit union serves nearly 30,000 residents across Northern Illinois and has a deep connection across multiple communities, from the Yorkville and Oswego areas to the Aurora and Batavia townships.
“I feel a personal connection to this area. It will always be my hometown, so when I see our community thrive, it directly impacts my family and friends. The founding philosophy of many credit unions is ‘people helping people,’ and that has been my guiding principle for as long as I can remember,” Cabadas said.
As she said, people helping people has been a philosophy surrounding her connection with the community, and that’s exactly what a community is: people helping people.
Similar to good credit history, being a CEO or President of a company comes with lots of responsibilities and oftentimes a deep history with that company – and when it comes to good history, Cabadas has exactly that.
As a lifelong Oswego resident, Cabadas worked at Earthmover’s student-run branch, the Panther Credit Union, at OH. Throughout her career, Cabadas championed many important initiatives, including a full-scale rebrand of the credit union in 2022, managed branch remodels, the new Batavia branch, a merger with Peoples Energy Credit Union, and moved toward a more digital environment.
“Over the next year, I’d like to explore joining some local boards as well as credit‑union‑specific boards,” she said. “There is still so much to learn, and I want to stay connected to the needs of the community. I also plan to attend CEO conferences and take advantage of new networking opportunities.”
Even as the head of a company, there is lots of work to be done and even more to learn. Whether it’s at a Fortune 500 company or a local business like Earthmover, being a connected CEO that helps guide decisions on boards (such as the ones Cabadas mentioned), and knowing what your community needs from your business are major characteristics of a quality President of any company.
Hello, I'm Roman Berger, and this is my first year with the 42Fifty Staff team. I am currently a Senior at Oswego High School, and plan on writing lots of articles related to the news or opinion sections. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
Hi! My name is Ainslee Gerardot and I'm a junior at Oswego High School. This is my first year of the 42Fifty staff, and I am proud to serve as Social Media Editor. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
