President & Chief Executive Officer
Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity)

After consulting with key stakeholders at Vancity, the following opportunities and challenges were identified for the new President & Chief Executive Officer:

Values:  Vancity’s vision is a transformed economy that protects the earth and guarantees equity for all. Its members, Board and team members view the organization as a financial force for change and ultimately a disrupter in a traditional sector. These values go beyond words and have been demonstrated in action throughout Vancity’s history with several ‘firsts’ including being the founding partner of Reconciliation Canada, an initiative working to revitalize relationships among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians (Vancity has since adopted Reconciliation as a core value of the organization). Other firsts include becoming the first Canadian Financial Institution to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance; the first to offer socially responsible and innovative products such as mutual funds, RESP, open mortgages; the first to market to the gay and lesbian communities; and many more. The President & CEO of Vancity must share these ideals and ambitions and bring the vision and drive to align this social purpose and justice mission with the needs and business goals of a financial institution. Ultimately, the challenge will be to provide focus and clarity to the ambitious goals and vision of Vancity while laying out a path that brings this vision to life.

Strength of Organization: With over $33 billion in assets under administration, Vancity is Canada’s largest community credit union. Its brand is recognized, globally, as a leader in climate action, responsible banking, sustainable finance and impact investing. The organization’s influence is felt well beyond the services it provides to its 560,000 members; its impact touches communities through partnerships, sponsorships and servicing marginalized centres and people. With a strong financial foundation, experienced leadership team, dedicated and passionate staff, and a globally recognized brand, the new President & CEO of Vancity will have a chance to not only lead one of the premier financial institutions in Canada but also steward an organization that is seeking to affect social and environmental change.

Macroenvironment: The successful candidate will be taking on the leadership role of Vancity at a critical time in its history. The banking and financial services sector is going through a period of rapid and fundamental transformation and change. Interest rate challenges, changing banking patterns, the introduction of open banking and artificial intelligence, and technology disruptions are among some of the significant issues impacting all financial institutions. While Vancity is better positioned than most, challenges remain. A highly strategic and astute President & CEO will be required to help oversee the balance sheet and steward the organization in this challenging period. 

External Influence: Vancity is recognized nationally and internationally for its transformative approach to banking, most recently in the areas of climate action and affordable housing. As such, the President & CEO of Vancity has a responsibility that goes far beyond the province of BC – they play a highly visible role by leading and influencing on issues such as the housing crisis, social justice, and equality globally by being the voice to the broader cooperative movement and for financial services reform. The successful candidate must be able to build on and extend this legacy of advocacy, creating strategy that flows directly from the organizations vision, and identifying and creating strategic opportunities to influence.

Technology: Future-state and current-state technology is a key priority for Vancity. Digitization, Artificial Intelligence, open banking and other emerging technology trends present both challenges and opportunities for the organization in the near- to long-term. From an operational standpoint, Vancity needs to ensure it is providing its members with a technology experience that meets their everyday banking needs. From a service perspective, Vancity needs to ensure technology improves the employee experience. Through the Information Technology team and the new Chief Technology & Information Officer, the President & CEO must ensure Vancity has a clear technology strategy and roadmap to meet the needs of the future while also ensuring that the organization is able to deliver on its core capabilities and the day-to-day needs of members and staff.  Time is of the essence in this highly competitive and changing market.

Growth: The financial services industry generally, and credit union sector specifically, is undergoing significant consolidation.  To be prudent, Vancity must continually evaluate its strategic position in the broader market.  As such, the new President & CEO and Board will need to quickly evaluate how much growth and scale is required to remain competitive and develop a plan to execute rapidly. A highly strategic CEO with experience around M&A will be a significant asset to steward the organization through any deliberations.

Board Relations: The Board of Vancity is elected by members and comprised of a diverse group of talented and passionate individuals who come from a range of backgrounds. They function effectively and with the best interest of the organization in mind. Most Board members have a deep history with the organization, the co-operative movement and credit union community ethos and decided to run for the Board because they believe strongly in the vision and mission of the organization. The President & CEO must be able to lead with empathy and respect, quickly establish trust, and build a highly effective, open and communicative partnership between themselves, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board. 

Team: Vancity’s commitment to a transformed economy is realized through its exceptional staff, and their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, racial justice and Reconciliation is embedded in all the work that Vancity does with members and community. The President & CEO will inherit a cohesive and talented executive and leadership team with a mix of tenure with the organization. Across its 2700+ employees, team members are highly engaged, incredibly dedicated and committed to the organization and its vision. However, there remains an opportunity to improve morale, culture and engagement across the organization and with Vancity entering collective bargaining in the fall (Vancity is partially unionized). The President & CEO will need to be a highly visible, inspirational and accessible leader who truly ‘lives the values’.

Membership Leverage: Vancity has a considerable opportunity to win over the daily banking business of its 560,000+ members, many of whom have only one banking product with Vancity. Moreover, Vancity has an incredible opportunity to mobilize its values-aligned members as a financial force for change, helping them invest their capital to better strengthen their communities and to ‘live their values’. To capitalize on this opportunity, Vancity will need to continue to communicate its story and value proposition.