A Bermudian has become the head of Florida’s third biggest credit union.

Timothy Antonition is the new president and chief executive officer of Space Coast Credit Union, which has $3 billion in assets.

Mr Antonition, already identified as the next CEO of the company, took over after long-time president and CEO Doug Samuels died suddenly earlier this month.

Space Coast Credit Union chairman Dale Neubert said: “Tim is an innovative and accomplished leader with a wealth of operational experience — he was selected for his commitment to member value.”

Mr Neubert said Mr Antonition had been singled out two years ago by the board of directors and Mr Samuels and a succession plan was being worked on when Mr Samuels died.

He added: “We are deeply saddened over our loss, but thankful to Doug that he had the foresight to prepare and protect the credit union, as he always did.

“The board has immense confidence that Tim will lead the credit union through these challenging times, pursuing new heights and realising the growth potential from our expansion into south Florida markets.”

Mr Antonition left Mount St Agnes Academy in 1986 to study at the Florida Institute of Technology and graduated with a BSc in airway science management.

He later completed a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Central Florida.

Mr Antonition, who stepped up to his new role from executive vice-president and chief operating officer, joined the credit union in 1992 as a document specialist and rose through the ranks, becoming responsible for all branch operations in 199.

Mr Antonition was a driving force behind SCCU’s Express Services, a call centre-style operation to allow existing and potential members of the union to open deposit accounts and apply for loans over the phone.

He also managed the merger of SCCU merged with Eastern Financial Federal Credit Union in 2009, which doubled the credit union’s size and earned him promotion to chief operating officer in 2011.

SCCU is a member-owned, not for profit financial co-operative founded in 1951 as Patrick Air Force Base Credit Union to act as a savings institution and credit provider to military personnel at the base with just seven members and combined assets of $372.

It now has close to 300,000 members with 58 branch locations along the east coast of Florida.