Coast Capital announces 2013 board of directors

SURREY, BC, March 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Four incumbents on the Coast Capital Savings board will fill vacant director seats by acclamation, with their three-year tenures beginning April 30 after the credit union's annual general meeting in Richmond.

The four directors are Doug Brownridge, Bill Cooke, Glenn Wong and current board chair Bill Wellburn.

Christian Findlay, chair of the Coast Capital board's nominations committee, said the credit union's rules require directors to be elected by acclamation whenever the number of candidates who put their names forward for election is the same as the number of vacancies on the board.

"We always welcome director elections and the member dialogue, engagement and new perspectives they can generate," Findlay said, adding that seven out of 10 current directors have been newly elected to the board in the last six years. "However, we are also very pleased with the fact that we have four highly skilled and experienced directors returning to the board this year."

As part of Coast Capital's director election process, the credit union mailed out a call for nominations to members in October last year. This included a Director Recruitment Description that outlined specific personal attributes, diversity considerations, and skills and experience the nominations committee was seeking in directors for the 2013 - 2016 term. Twenty-six members expressed interest and received candidate information packages for the 2013 election, with only six submitting applications.

The committee, working with an independent governance consultant, reviewed all nominations and determined that the four incumbents' attributes best matched the requirements of the Director Recruitment Description, demonstrating the strongest skills to oversee a complex $14.6 billion financial institution.

The nominations committee advised each of the six candidates that four individuals would be recommended to the membership. While non-recommended candidates are welcome to stand for election, and many have done so in six of the past seven years, this year all candidates other than those identified by the committee chose to withdraw their applications. This left only the four recommended incumbent directors to fill the four positions.

"The four re-elected incumbents have already made strong contributions to Coast Capital's current success and continuing to have their expertise at the board table will be of great benefit to the organization, our members and the communities we serve," Findlay said. "Their knowledge and experience in risk management, organizational transformation, technology, and board leadership, as well as their committed engagement in the community, will contribute to Coast Capital's ongoing leadership in the financial services industry."

Coast Capital reported strong financial results and customer growth in 2012, becoming the first credit union in Canada to surpass a milestone of 500,000 members. The credit union also achieved a member satisfaction score of 86.8 per cent; contributed $5.2 million to the community; and passed on estimated savings of $38 million to members through its popular free chequing account.

Coast Capital's director election process models the recommendations of the Financial Institution Commission's task force on advancing credit union governance. It is recognized as an industry best practice by the Canadian Co-operative Association, which presented Coast Capital Savings with its Innovations in Co-operative Governance Award for the credit union's governance process and practices. The credit union's nominations committee operates at arms-length from the board and works with an external consultant on board governance throughout the director elections process each year.

For more information on the four directors, see backgrounder.

Coast Capital Savings Credit Union is Canada's second largest credit union with total assets under administration of $14.6 billion, 504,000 members and 50 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution and the country's most flexible mortgage product, the You're the Boss™ Mortgage, which was named 2010 Mortgage of the Year by canadianmortgagetrends.com. Coast Capital offers one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™. It is a member of Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club and an Imagine Canada Caring Company. To learn more, visit www.coastcapitalsavings.com.

Backgrounder
Director biographies

Doug Brownridge
Mr. Brownridge is a senior executive and entrepreneur with extensive experience from global technology and consumer organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, President of Sherpaquest Consulting Ltd. and Co-owner and COO of It's Just Lunch Canada. Mr. Brownridge has held strategic executive leadership positions at ACL, Intrawest, PMC-Sierra, Motorola, Rogers Wireless and Cadbury. He began his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Brownridge also brings extensive governance experience from serving on boards including Citizens Bank of Canada, BC Integrated Technology Initiative, BC Technology Industry Association and the Global Chief Marketing Officer Council. His community service has included serving on the board of Science Fair Foundation BC and providing mentoring support to high school students from across Canada participating in the Shad Valley Program. Mr. Brownridge holds his ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and has served on the Board of Coast Capital since 2010. He brings broad experience in developing innovative business strategies and implementing complex technology to the Coast Capital Board.

Bill Cooke
Mr. Cooke retired in 2006 as CEO of MD Private Trust Company, a national, member-based investment and wealth management firm. Mr. Cooke has held senior management positions in public companies, financial institutions and provincial government. He is chair of the finance, audit and risk review committee for the board of governors of Okanagan College. He previously served on the board and chaired the human resources committee of Guide Exploration (TSX), chaired the audit committees of Galleon Energy and Magin Energy and was lead director of Galleon. He has an MBA and a BA from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina. His community involvement includes serving as an Emergency Medical First Responder on the North Shuswap. Mr. Cooke holds his ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and brings leadership, risk management, business acumen and broad governance experience to the Coast Capital Board.

Bill Wellburn
Mr. Wellburn is a graduate of the University of Victoria, a Chartered Accountant and a businessman committed to embracing and leading change that makes a difference. He is a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) with specialized knowledge in corporate governance and accountability. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Credit Union Foundation of British Columbia in recognition of his contribution to the BC credit union system. He brings strong leadership, team building and communication skills to the Coast Capital Board. Mr. Wellburn's community service includes serving as a director of the Victoria Business Improvement Association, Chair of the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children and Chair of the Provincial Capital Commission. He currently serves as the Chair of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Glenn Wong
Mr. Wong is founder of the strategy consulting company, Catalyst Solutions Ltd., received his BCom from the University of British Columbia and is a certified corporate director. Mr. Wong has served as President/CEO of several companies including Electronic Arts Canada, Rogers Cable TV BC and BC Hot House. His extensive community involvement includes serving as a board member of the Canadian Media Fund and EComm 911. His past service includes being Vice Chair of the Vancouver Police Board as well as the boards of the BC Cancer Foundation, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. (immigrant social services), ICBC and UBC's Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board. Mr. Wong is a two-time winner of the American Marketing Association BC Chapter Marketer of the Year Award. He holds his ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and adds breadth to the Board with his extensive executive leadership experience with high-growth and large scale companies.

SOURCE: Coast Capital Savings Credit Union

Divine Agodzo, Manager, Media Relations, Coast Capital Savings
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]