North Vancouver's BlueShore Financial is about to have a new CEO after more than two decades of leadership from its outgoing top executive.
The credit union announced today that it has hired Ian Thomas as its next permanent CEO, effective Nov. 14.
That means that the new CEO will not have his term overlap with current CEO Chris Catliff, who announced his retirement in March and plans to officially leave at the end of this week. Catliff has been in his role for 23 years and nine months, according to a 2016 BIV profile and his LinkedIn profile.
There will be a six-week time gap between BlueShore's two permanent CEOs' terms so chief human relations officer Deb Best is set to fill in as interim CEO in October and early November. Best has been at the financial institution for about a year and a half.
Thomas comes to BlueShore following nearly five years as CEO at Kindred Credit Union in Kitchener, Ontario. Prior to that, he held various executive roles during more than ten years at B.C.'s Coast Capital Savings, including as their chief risk officer, vice-president of retail and wealth and chief member experience officer. He also has extensive risk-advisory experience at Deloitte.
Thomas showed his communication skills as a "Your Money" segment expert on CTV Morning Live for more than five years, until May 2017.
“I’m honoured to join BlueShore and work alongside the board and management team to lead the organization to long-term sustainability and success,” he said in a media release.
BlueShore's board chair Diana Chan praised Thomas' "long track record of leadership in driving solid financial results, building high-performance teams, and deepening member engagement throughout his career."
She said his strong suits include client experience, risk management, and technology innovation.
