Preparing for accelerated growth fueled by increasing national demands for secure electronic transactions, the National Notary Association named Larisa Gurnick as its new chief-executive-officer.
Gurnick, a veteran executive with extensive experience in high-level marketing and organizational management, has been selected to lead the NNA's efforts in capturing opportunities brought about by eNotarization and new requirements for identification verification and security in global transactions.
As the sole accredited resource for electronic identity credentials designed for use in eNotarizations, the NNA is poised to leverage its leadership role. The association believes that Gurnick's appointment positions the NNA to fully maximize current and future opportunities brought about by emerging technologies. Milt Valera, the association's president, announced her appointment. He relinquished his role as chief-executive to focus on his increasing governance and strategic planning responsibilities as NNA's president and chairman.
Gurnick becomes only the third person in the NNA's 51-year history to become chief-executive-officer, after founder Ray Rothman and Valera. Additionally, she is the first person from outside the association to be named to the post. Gurnick brings more than two decades of experience in marketing, financial management, corporate leadership, and operational planning to the NNA. Most recently, she served as the executive vice president of the California Bankers Association, where she established priorities for California's bankers and developed solutions to a number of major challenges.
Previously, she served as executive vice president and chief-marketing-officer for Countrywide Bank of Thousand Oaks, California, where she was instrumental in developing branding initiatives; establishing marketing programs for its retail banking network and developing landmark deposit programs.
"The NNA is growing dramatically, and we are seizing many new and exciting opportunities for even greater success," Valera said. "Larisa is a strong leader with a proven track record. We view her knowledge and ability as important assets that will capitalize on our leadership position in eNotarization and guide us into a period of accelerated growth."
A certified public accountant, Gurnick is a business administration graduate from California University, Northridge. She resides in Woodland Hills, California with her husband and three sons.
The announcement of the new chief-executive-officer comes at a time when the NNA is increasing support for its membership and is stepping up efforts to promote the office of the Notary Public. As a combined result of rampant identity theft, the nationwide mortgage crisis and post-September 11th concerns, the critical role that Notaries play in helping guard the nation's security has been dramatically elevated. The NNA works to increase Notary professionalism through support, education, promoting best practices and acting on emerging professional opportunities for both Notaries and the association.
As businesses, government agencies and defense rapidly transition to all-electronic transactions, unprecedented security is being required to verify the credentials of individuals participating in electronic exchanges. To address the new requirements, the NNA has announced it is supplying the nation's Notaries with a next-generation Electronic Notary Signature developed in partnership with leading companies. The new Signature enables electronic notarizations and identification verification bearing the highest level of security available.
The NNA has also established its high-demand Trusted Enrollment Agent Program, which empowers a specially-trained and authorized network of Notaries to formally establish the identity of individuals applying for electronic identity credentials. The Trusted Enrollment Agent Program will initially serve the U.S. aerospace and defense industries to secure electronic communications for confidential, secret or classified projects, and is expected to expand into a number of industries including medical, financial, banking, international trade, insurance, automotive, energy and technology.