John Hirabayashi

John Hirabayashi retired in 2024 as president and CEO of Community First Credit Union where he served for 28 years. Originally founded in Downtown Jacksonville, Community First is headquartered in LaVilla and is the longest, continually operating financial institution in Downtown. Mr. Hirabayashi has continued his long legacy of leadership through his volunteer service and community commitments. He and his wife are residents of Avondale.

Hirabayashi led Community First since 1996 when it was known as Educational Community Credit Union and had $200 million in assets and 44,000 members. Under his leadership, Community First grew to one of the largest credit unions in Florida with more than $2.8 billion in assets and 22 branch locations serving 175,000 members.

Mr. Hirabayashi is a member of the board of directors for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund and the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. He is also a council member of the US-Japan Council. His former directorships include the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Members Development Company, Alliance for World Class Education, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) Foundation, the JAX Chamber Board of Trustees and the Executive Advisory Board of the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University. He is a former member of the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is the former chair of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI) and WJCT Public Broadcasting.

Mr. Hirabayashi previously served as president and CEO at Cal State 9 Credit Union, CFO at Patelco Credit Union, and served in various leadership positions at Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Hirabayashi earned an MBA in finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Pamplin, a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Leeds School of Business, and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He received the Jacksonville Business Journal’s Ultimate CEO award.

Term Expires: June 30, 2028
Appointing Authority: Jacksonville Mayor