Board of Directors

Paul Kelly was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Connect First Credit Union, created through the merger of First Calgary and Chinook credit unions in 2014.  Paul had been the CEO of First Calgary Credit Union since 2009.

Mr. Kelly currently is a member of the boards of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, the Canadian Mental Health Association (Calgary Region) and is Vice Chair of Alberta Central.

Mr.  Kelly holds a Master of Business Administration, Finance from York University and an Honours Business Administration from University of Western Ontario – Richard Ivey School of Business.

As Chief Credit Officer of First West Credit Union, Shelley Besse is responsible for leading regional operations across all of First West’s regional brands including Envision Financial, Valley First, Enderby & District Financial and Island Savings.

Shelley is a highly respected leader with extensive knowledge and experience in financial services. Creating excellence in the member experience has been a primary driver throughout her longstanding career with the credit union and extending the organization’s promise of being trusted advisors to its members and clients remains a top priority. In her role as chief operating officer, she remains committed to seeing things from the perspectives of First West Credit Union members, local businesses and communities.

Since joining Envision Financial in 1984, Shelley has held a number of increasingly senior in-branch and leadership roles including branch manager; vice-president, branch operations; vice-president, sales and service and vice-president, risk management and operations. She was appointed to lead First West’s merger transition plan in 2009 and successfully delivered against a three-year strategy to create a high—performing operations team within First West’s new operating model.

Following this role, Shelley was appointed senior vice-president of operations, sales and member experience where she focused on providing employees with operations support and for developing and implementing an enterprise-wide continuous improvement strategy known as Lean. In January 2012, Shelley became president of the Envision Financial, a division of First West Credit Union and in January 2016 she was appointed as chief operating officer of First West.

In 2012, Shelley received international recognition for her leadership and business acumen when she was awarded a Silver Stevie Award in the category of Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services –11 to 2,500 Employees and a Bronze Stevie Award in the category of Female Executive of the Year in Canada.

Among her many credentials, Shelley holds an MBA from Royal Roads University, a certificate in financial planning, is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program, specializing in strategy and organizational design and has received an Operational Risk Management professional designation from the International Council for Operational Risk Management. Shelley currently serves on the Board of CCUA and Aviso.

Allison Chaytor-Loveys is the CEO and Treasurer of Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union. Allison was inducted into the Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEOs Atlantic Canada Hall of Fame in 2010, having been named a Top 50 CEO in Atlantic Canada for five consecutive years.

Allison is a Fellow of the Credit Union Institute of Canada.

Stephen started his career at Libro 1988 and became President & CEO and Head Coach in 2012. He spearheaded the combination with United Communities Credit Union in 2013 while focusing on economic development in southwestern Ontario, and enabling and ensuring outstanding customer satisfaction levels.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor, and an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business. He is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors Program through the Rotman School of Management, an Associate of the Credit Union Institute of Canada, a graduate of the Queen’s Executive Program, and holds certificates from the Canadian Securities Institute.

Stephen is the Chair of the national credit union industry organization; the Chair of the Credit Unions of Ontario; and a director on the London Chamber of Commerce Board. He previously served nine years on the Credential Financial Services Board.

Stephen and his wife, Betty, live on a farm near Poplar Hill, and have two children, Kyle and Elise. He is an avid reader, a lifelong learner, enjoys coaching, travelling, and is active on social media. He stays active by running and biking.

Glenn has more than 36 years of Credit Union system experience, specializing in strategic planning, tactical implementation, membership relations and membership business development. He joined Synergy in 1997 as Branch Manager of the Lloydminster location and held this position until July 2003, when he was promoted to Executive Manager of Retail Services (now Chief Operating Officer). Synergy’s Board voted unanimously to appoint Glenn as the new CEO in 2013. Glenn believes in lifelong learning and in 2015 completed an extensive 3-year program in order to obtain his Certified Chief Executive (CCE) Designation via CUES (Credit Union Executive Society) and is currently enrolled in the professional director education program through Governance Solutions Inc. and plans to achieve a professional board certification by December 31, 2018.

Being involved in the community is an important value at Synergy. Away from work, Glenn has coached hockey for 17 years, was a Kinsmen for 25 years and continues to be an active K40 member, was an inaugural board member/chair for KidSport Lloydminster for 5 years, Lloydminster Economic Development chair for 4 years, Lloydminster Interval Home chair for 5 years, Streetscapes for 5 years, Wheatland Regional Centre chair for 4 years and participated on the Chamber of Commerce political action committee for 5 years.

Glenn currently serves on the Celero Management Committee and was Chair of CEAMS in Saskatchewan for 5 years until is dissolution in December 2017.

Ken Shea is the President & CEO of East Coast Credit Union, the largest credit union in Atlantic Canada. Ken began his career in financial services in 1983 with the Bank of Montreal, and progressed through various senior management positions until he left the position of Personal Banking Area Manager to join the Credit Union system in 2004.

Ken was inducted into Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEOs in 2015, and has been named a Top 50 CEO in Atlantic Canada for 3 consecutive years. Ken was also named 2018 Canada’s Clean 50 Award Honoree, and under his leadership, ECCU was awarded the 2018 Canadian Credit Union Association National Corporate Social Responsibility Award.

Ken holds an MBA, Marketing and Finance, from the University of New Brunswick, and a Bachelor of Commerce, Finance from Dalhousie University. He completed the Canadian Securities Course and has both Certified Financial Planning and Personal Financial Planning designations. Ken completed the CUDA training program, including Accreditation as a Director, through Dalhousie University.

At present, Ken serves as a Director with League Savings and Mortgage, a Director with Healthwise Cooperative and Connecting People for Health, and Chair of the Canadian Chapter of the Credit Union Executives Society. Ken lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia with his wife Lori, two girls Hillary and Claire, and their dog Penny.

Robert Moreau has a wealth of experience of more than 20 years, with 15 of those years being in senior management positions. He joined the UNI Financial Cooperation’s team in 2015 as Vice-President, Corporate Services. In January 2017, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer. During his career, M. Moreau has acquired a diverse background in senior leadership positions spanning through the financial, insurance and privately owned manufacturing industries.

Prior to joining UNI, M. Moreau was the Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer for Assumption Life. His privately owned business and executive leadership experience was expanded with the role of Chief Financial Officer for Imperial Manufacturing Group. Both organization are doing business nationally.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous boards of directors and related committees. He was recently the Chair of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, the largest francophone business association in the province representing its various stakeholders with government.

Robert Moreau holds a Business Administration degree from Université Laval, as well as CPA, CGA accounting designation. He has completed two professional development programs at Queen’s School of Business, the Executive Development Program and the Sales Management Program, and he also holds the ICD.D title from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

As President and CEO of  Prospera Credit Union, Gavin leads a progressive and dynamic leadership team to help shape and guide the credit union’s strategic direction. Gavin joined Westminster Savings (before the merge with Prospera Credit Union) in 2011 as Senior Vice President and CFO, and was appointed President and CEO in 2012. Prior to Westminster Savings, Gavin held a number of executive level positions with the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), another prominent B.C. member-based organization. Most recently he was Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer and had responsibility for all customer-facing operations. Spanning a 16-year career at BCAA, other roles included Vice President Business Development, Director of Finance and Corporate Treasurer.

Gavin is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) by training and a KPMG alumnus. He is a graduate of the Queen’s University Executive Leadership program, holds a business degree from Simon Fraser University and is a certified corporate director (ICD.D).

Gavin is board chair at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and is on the board of Credential Financial Inc. Gavin also chairs an industry forum responsible for unlocking strategic value for Canadian small business owners, and has previously chaired the boards of two national finance companies.

Linda joined First Credit Union in February of 2018 as Chief Executive Officer. Becoming part of the Credit Union system has allowed Linda to exercise her passion to lead a purpose-driven organization, and in her role as CEO she has spent the past two years helping shape First Credit Union’s social purpose strategy.

With over twenty years of experience in Senior Executive roles within Canada Trust, TD Bank, CIBC and the insurance division of BCAA, Linda has developed expertise in change management, leadership, & continuous improvement. Some of the highlights of her roles include leading the Retail branches in Alberta for CIBC as Market Vice President, leading National Sales as VP Private Client Services for TD Wealth, introducing Lean Six Sigma methodology to TD Bank, and leading the Insurance operation and contact centre for BCAA as SVP & Chief Member Experience Officer.

Linda considers herself a lifelong learner; she has completed the Certified Financial Planning designation, holds a Bachelor & Masters of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University, completed the Queen’s University Executive Sales Leadership program, and earned a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. Linda is currently enrolled in the Credit Union Directors Accreditation (CUDA) program.

Linda serves as a Director on the Board of BC’s Stabilization Central Credit Union, and is Board Chair of the Credit Union Agencies Alliance, an insurance partnership comprised of Cooperators, First Credit Union and Aldergrove Credit Union.

George has over 25 years of experience in the Credit Union system and has held various positions.  Currently he serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Luminus Financial, a position he has held for the last 15 years. Since taking the position, the credit union’s assets have grown by close to 500%.  He also has the distinction of becoming one of the youngest Credit Union CEOs in 2005, whose leadership helped the company receive the prestigious awards and recognitions including:

• Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) Award – 2020
• Toronto Star Reader’s Choice Diamond Winner Award in the category of Professional Services Credit Union – 2019
• Concentra emPOWERING Your Communities Campaign Award in recognition of the organization’s contribution to the Filipino community through its Remit Now, Pay Later program – 2015
• Address a group of Latin American Credit Union executives from countries such as Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, all which are members of the World Council of Credit Union – July 2012
• Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) Award –2011
• Image Enhancement Golden Mirror Award from the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) –2007
• Young Credit Union People Program (WYCUP) Scholarship – 2005

He has volunteered his time within various organizations or committees including The Credit Union Council, Credit Union Services Association (in Ontario), Ontario Government Relations Community of Practice, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) Industry Advisory Group, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation, Ontario Credit Union Payday Lending Subcommittee, and AboutFace.

George received his Accounting Diploma from Centennial College, his Bachelor of Commerce – Business Management and Marketing Management with a minor in Human Resources from Ryerson University and his Fellowship with the Credit Union Institution of Canada (FCUIC) designation through Dalhousie University.

Jennifer has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Her professional background includes progressive leadership experience in the financial services industry, currently serving as Chief Brand & Innovation Officer for Assiniboine Credit Union.  Previously, Jennifer served as the Director, Regional Sales for CUMIS, COO for Wellington West Capital Inc. and VP, Corporate Development for a large Manitoba based Credit Union.

Jennifer is self-motivated in the area of continuous learning; she has completed an MBA, and previously received her Project Management Professional and Certificate in Management designations.  She has also participated in advanced leadership and management training at Queen’s School of Business, Cornell University and Wharton School of Business and is currently pursuing the ICD DEP certification. Jennifer is active in national credit union committee work, serving on the Large Credit Union CIO Committee, Payments Modernization, Aviso Member Experience Council, Everlink Strategic Advisory Council, Celero Governance Council and Xpress Digital Solution Governance Council.

Jennifer is known for her ability to apply systems thinking and an outside looking in perspective to strategic planning. She has a proven track record of implementing transformative change that has delivered sustained results.  She is a strong leader and motivator who inspires leaders, teams and individuals to reach their full potential through building capabilities and competencies that deliver shared results. She is committed to cooperative principles and is passionate about making a difference beyond the bottom-line.

Jennifer sits on the boards of Manitoba Blue Cross, Acuity HR solutions (advisory) and Winnipeg Insurance Brokerage.