Vancity board appoints long-time executive Christine Bergeron as president and CEO

Vancity has decided to stick with a familiar face at the helm of Canada's largest community credit union.

Today, Vancity announced that the board has named Christine Bergeron as its next president and CEO following a national search.

Last year, Bergeron replaced Tamara Vrooman on an interim basis as president and CEO after Vrooman accepted a new job heading the Vancouver International Airport Authority.

“Having led the credit union successfully through one of the most challenging times in global history while delivering a renewed business plan, Christine has already proven she is the right leader with the vision and strategy to lead Vancity into the future," Vancity chair Jan O'Brien said in a news release.

Vancity has more than 543,000 member-owners and 54 branches. It currently has $28.2 billion in assets and assets under administration.

Prior to becoming the interim president and CEO, Bergeron was the chief member services officer. This meant that she oversaw the credit union's branch network, retail business, commercial, and wealth-management operations, according to the news release.

In the past, she's also been vice president of impact investing, wealth management, and community real estate. In addition, she's been vice president of community banking.

Bergeron has a keen interest in finance as it pertains to the climate. She serves as a North American representative on the UN Environment Programme's finance initiative banking board.

“Since joining Vancity in 2011, I feel very fortunate to have been part of the Vancity journey to deliver exceptional service and advice to our members, and to help create a future that is clean and fair for everyone," Bergeron said in the news release. "I’m incredibly excited to help drive our work to fulfill Vancity’s unique mission to further the financial, social, and environmental well-being of our members and their communities.”