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Annual Board Nominations & Election

The Board of Directors are elected positions and are here to serve you.

 

Members of DUCA are Owners and have a right to influence the governance of the Credit Union through the annual Board of Directors Call for Applications and Elections. The Election for 2023 is now open. Members have until midnight March 27, 2023 to cast their votes for their preferred Candidates.

This year, there are four Candidates running for three Board openings. Please review the 2023 Election instructions to learn how you can cast your vote and to read the Candidates' biographies.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ONLINE. 
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Don't forget to re-visit this page as we get closer to the April 27, 2023 Annual General Meeting for information on how to register and attend this virtual event.

For insight into DUCA's financial performance, corporate goals, and the ways in which DUCA makes a positive impact on Members’ lives and communities, review the Corporate Reports below.

DUCA would love to hear from you and can provide further information on any upcoming Board opportunities. Please email boardelections@duca.com with your questions or comments.

By-Laws: 
DUCA's current By-Laws can be reviewed here.

At the upcoming Annual General Meeting, Members will be asked to vote on proposed changes to the By-Laws. This year's amendments are extensive in places and we provide you with two links to review:

This link displays the proposed changes in relation to our current By-Laws: Here. 

This link displays the proposed By-Laws, assuming they are passed at the upcoming AGM: Here.







       
     

Executive Leadership Team

DUCA relies on its Executive Leadership Team for strategic planning and direction and to oversee all functional areas of the Credit Union. The team is comprised of financial institution leaders who have years of experience in the industry.

Doug Conick CPA, CA

President & CEO

Doug has been President & CEO of DUCA Financial Services Credit Union Ltd. since November 2016.  During this time he has been leading the ongoing investment in people, process, technology and in communities, as he and the DUCA team transform the organization into a High-Touch and High-Tech Credit Union able to deliver trusted financial care for the best-interests of all whom DUCA serves.  

Doug championed and led the development and launch of DUCA’s unique charitable foundation – the DUCA Impact Lab in 2018. Its purpose is to research, develop and launch new approaches to banking and finance for positive social impact and to achieve “banking that benefits all”. 

Throughout Doug’s tenure, he has championed DUCA’s mighty mission and purpose: Helping people and businesses do more, be more, and achieve more. Whether it’s helping Individuals and businesses with their everyday finances, advising on investments and wealth building, providing complex financial arrangements for large enterprises, or supporting society’s underbanked through the DUCA Impact Lab, Doug is proud to play a role in caring for Members, Employees, and Communities.  

Trained as a CPA and CA, Doug has senior executive background in banking, insurance, investments, and capital markets internationally. He served previously as the CEO of Manulife Bank & Trust, head of Canadian investment products at Manulife, and was CFO of Manulife Japan Division. 

Outside of work, Doug is a devoted father and husband, living in Burlington with his wife and two children. He is active in Community causes as a volunteer and enjoys cycling, snowboarding, and skiing. A lifelong learner, Doug is endlessly curious and is an avid reader. 


  

Phil Taylor

Chief Member Experience Officer

Phil’s current role as Chief Member Experience Officer is an evolution of his previous position at DUCA in which he held responsibility for all Retail and Business Banking and for introducing new distribution channels to the Credit Union. Phil’s accountability has now been expanded to include oversight over all aspects of DUCA’s operations affecting DUCA’s promise to deliver positive Member experiences.  

Phil is passionate about Employee and Member experiences and is personally invested in ensuring Employees and Members do more, be more, and achieve more through DUCA’s Retail Banking channels, Wealth services, Broker services and partnerships, centralized Operations, and Facilities. 

Phil spends much of his free time focused on his personal passions – Leadership, personal development and his family.  As a husband and father of three daughters, Phil spends much of his time with his family which includes his three cats and a dog! 



Pippa Nutt

Chief Marketing and Member Solutions Officer

Pippa joined DUCA in March of 2021 in the role of Chief Marketing and Member Solutions Officer.  As a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), Pippa is responsible for providing strategic marketing leadership by leading DUCA's brand, marketing, public relations, communications, and events initiatives. Pippa also oversees the DUCA Impact Lab, traditional marketing and advertising strategies and campaigns as well as the management and development of retail and business banking product solutions. 

Pippa joins DUCA from GainShare Performance Marketing (formerly) Northern Lights Direct , where she most recently held the position of Chief Digital Officer and Partner. In this role, Pippa had oversight and accountability for revenue growth, P&L management, and operations of the digital marketing division of the agency (Toronto & Chicago). During her 14 years at Northern Lights Direct, she held progressive leadership roles, launched the digital division within the agency, managed a portfolio of 40+ clients, managed the agency’s internal marketing planning and execution, pioneered new lead generation and qualification campaigns, spearheaded client engagements for digital marketing and brand direct response campaigns and strategies, researched, evaluated, and implemented new technologies and digital marketing platforms. 



Aron Rogers

Chief Technology Officer

Aron first joined DUCA in 2018 and has held progressive roles within IT and Operations. As Chief Technology Officer he is responsible for DUCA's IT strategy and ensuring that it supports DUCA's high tech, high touch vision. Aron is passionate about technology and leads a dedicated group of professionals in the management of DUCA applications, infrastructure, network, and cyber security. Aron also oversees DUCA's Project Management Office in the implementation of best practices in project planning and execution. 

Prior to his time with DUCA, Aron gained extensive technology experience through roles as a system integrator, developer, and architect in the financial services, insurance, and telecom sectors. He is a champion of innovation and has led multiple digital transformation programs to help enterprises modernize their technology to meet the evolving needs of customers and Members. 

Aron is a proud graduate of the University of Waterloo Systems Design Engineering program. He lives near High Park in Toronto and enjoys spending time there with his wife and two dogs. 

Mo Mauri

Chief Commercial Banking Officer

As DUCA’s Chief Commercial Banking Officer, Mo is responsible for driving DUCA’s growth in Commercial Banking as well as developing DUCA’s strategic direction in this sector. In addition, Mo oversees the Commercial Portfolio’s overall credit risk process throughout the life span of all Commercial deals.  

Prior to arriving at DUCA in 2018 and taking on oversight of DUCA’s Commercial Banking Team, throughout his 34 years of experience in Commercial and Business Banking, Mo worked for both Canadian and International Banks as well as other Ontario Credit Unions. 

Mo is a graduate of Mohawk College’s Finance Program and the University of Toronto’s Executive MBA Program. He has served on several not-for-profit Committees including being a member on the Mohawk College Alumni and Sons of Italy Boards.  Mo is a car enthusiast and baseball fanatic and currently resides in Mississauga. 



Tom Robertson

CEO, Continental Currency Exchange 

Tom joined DUCA via its acquisition of Continental Currency Exchange, where he serves as CEO. Continental is Canada’s largest retail FX bureau with nineteen branches across Ontario and a growing suite of online products and services. 

Prior to Continental, Tom held progressively senior roles in the financial services sector, including Sun Life Financial and TD Bank Group. He has acted as a strategic advisor to capital allocators internationally, and he writes regularly on the intersection of risk and the marketplace.

Tom lives in Toronto with his wife and three children. He spends most of his free time at their gymnastics competitions, hockey tournaments, and soccer festivals. Occasionally, he wakes up early and sneaks out of the house with the dog to fish.

Yan Xu

Chief Financial Officer

Yan joined the DUCA team in September 2020 as Chief Financial Officer after a 20-plus year career in the financial services sector. In her role as CFO, Yan is responsible for stewardship over DUCA’s financial resources as well as setting and achieving DUCA’s strategic and financial goals.  

Prior to arriving at DUCA, Yan held progressively senior finance roles at TD Bank and Home Capital Group, after obtaining her CPA designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier in her career. Yan is also a CFA charter holder. 

In her spare time, Yan enjoys travelling to experience new culture and cuisine as well as spending time outdoors with her husband, son, and golden retriever. Yan is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusiveness and has served as a Board Member and Officer at a number of not-for-profit organizations. 



Karey Carson

Chief People & Culture Officer

Early on in her career, practicing occupational therapy helped Karey fulfill her passion of helping people overcome challenges and achieve their goals. She later channeled that passion into several senior leadership roles in operations, risk management and human resources.  

Since 2017, she has led DUCA’s People & Culture team, responsible for developing and leading our human resources strategy and key programs that support the achievement of DUCA’s business strategies and goals. Guided by our Purpose and Values, Karey drives the delivery of DUCA’s employee experience, through building and maintaining an organizational culture that harnesses positive energy for our purpose of helping people do more, be more, and achieve more. Through these efforts, DUCA aims to attract and retain the talent necessary to deliver an exceptional Member experience. As part of her role, Karey is also accountable for leading the people side of change pertaining to wide-scale strategic initiatives, positively impacting the speed of adoption and the realization of business results. 

Outside of work, Karey enjoys adventure travel and spending time with her extended family. 



Riz Ahmad 

Chief Risk Officer

As DUCA’s Chief Risk Officer, Riz leads a team with enterprise risk management responsibilities, including compliance and regulatory matters.  The team’s focus is to deliver value to DUCA Members with a balance of risk and reward for profitable growth.  

Prior to joining DUCA in 2017, Riz worked in banking at various financial institutions in London, New York, and Toronto in both client-facing and client-support functions. In addition, Riz was engaged in academic business research and executive education. 

Riz grew up living in countries all over the world. He continues to enjoy travel and experiencing the world through cuisine, books, and cinema.  


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Michael Creasor

Treasurer

Michael Creasor, Treasurer, is one of DUCA’s longest serving employees, having joined the DUCA team in 1985.  As Treasurer, Michael is accountable for all treasury functions at our Credit Union including managing the Balance Sheet, investing excess funds, and using a number of different methods to provide balanced funding to support DUCA’s loan and asset portfolios.   

In addition, Michael works on building alternative channels for both loans and deposits to help DUCA achieve growth targets and reach new potential Members. He is passionate in executing DUCA’s purpose in serving Members and, with his team, rallies around DUCA’s mission to help Members do more, be more, and achieve more. 

Michael is a graduate of York University and a CPA, CGA. He is looking forward to being able to spend time in Florida with his family and cheering on all of his favourite Toronto sports teams. Go Leafs Go!!! 



Afzal Hussain

Vice President, Audit

Since August 2011, Afzal’s priorities at DUCA have centered on the execution of independent and objective testing of controls. In order for DUCA to address the possible existence of deficiencies that could prevent DUCA from achieving its goals, Afzal oversees investigations and reporting intended to reveal areas that may require strengthening. As DUCA continues to grow and evolve, Afzal proactively supports this business transformation by ensuring adequate controls are tested as new business processes develop.  Currently Afzal holds the following designations CPA, CISA, CDPSE.   

In his spare time, Afzal organizes and coaches a Ball Hockey League for children under the age of 16. He is equally passionate about supporting and watching both the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs. 




​​2022 Board of Directors

The Board is elected by DUCA Members and proudly acts as the voice of the Members, overseeing and setting the policies and governance of DUCA.

  

Tom Vandeloo is a trusted advisor to business executives across Canada. Now retired, Tom was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG where he worked with more than one hundred companies in nearly every sector of the Canadian economy. He has over thirty years of consulting experience in business integration & separation, cost optimization, business performance improvement, procurement & strategic sourcing, and supply chain services.  

In addition to his role on DUCA’s Board, Tom is a Director at Central1 where he serves on the Audit & Finance Committee, the Risk Review and Investment & Loan Committee, and the Ontario Pension Sub-committee. He also works as a Volunteer Consultant with Management Advisory Services, providing pro bono consulting services to non-profit organizations in the GTA. 

Tom holds and ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and a B.Math in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. 

Peter Adamek

Director

Peter Adamek is an independent corporate director and a senior investment executive with over 28 years of experience in the financial industry. Having worked at Scotiabank, Manulife and Royal Bank, he gained extensive financial, business development and banking expertise in the areas of corporate and international lending, risk management, and alternative assets/private equity investing. 

Peter worked on numerous private equity investments and mezzanine financing in Canada and internationally, served on corporate boards, and worked with management teams to grow their companies organically or via accretive M&A strategies. He is honoured to serve on DUCA's Board and contribute to its growth for the benefit of all DUCA Members and the communities they live in. 

Peter holds an MBA from the University of New Brunswick and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors – Rotman School of Management. His business acumen and effectiveness are also enhanced by his legal background as he obtained a law degree and worked as a corporate lawyer in the Czech Republic before he came to Canada. 

Carlo is a corporate director and senior executive with 30 years experience in large companies in regulated industries as well as entrepreneurial start-ups.  He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and has earned the Institute of Corporate Directors designation, ICD.D, through the Rotman School of Management.   

Carlo has served on the DUCA Board of Directors since 2020. He is also on the Boards of Demand Power Group and the not-for-profit Columbus Centre of Toronto and serves as an advisor to Five Points Ventures.  Carlo has previously served as the senior executive in charge of strategy, mergers and acquisitions and project development and as the Chief Risk Officer at a large Ontario-based company operating in a heavily regulated industry.  Through these experiences he brings to the DUCA Board expertise in strategy development and execution, collaboration and consensus-building and financial and risk management. 

Carlo strongly believes in DUCA’s philosophy of putting people before profits and that providing an exceptional, personalized Member experience will help them do more, be more and achieve more. 

Anita Stefan

Director

Anita Stefan is recently retired from RBC Capital Markets. Her interest in serving on the Board comes from a shared vision to support DUCA Members in achieving their financial goals and in serving the community in which we live. She has 35+ years of experience in the financial services industry as well as Board experience and is committed to building a culture of sustainability, collaboration, and accountability.

Prior to retiring from RBC, Ms. Stefan was the Managing Director and Global Head of Business services where she led a global team which included Capital Markets IT, Quantitative Services, Business Management, Client Strategy and Analytics and Trade Desk Supervision for Global Markets. Previous roles at RBC included Head of U.S. Commercial Mortgage Securitization, Head of Term Funding and Securitization, Corporate Treasury and Chief Dealer, responsible for the trading and execution of RBC’s hedging, discretionary trading and investment portfolios.

Anita is involved in various volunteer activities including currently serving as Board Director for Moorelands Kids, an innovative charity empowering kids from low-income neighbourhoods to transform their lives through summer camp and after school programs. She previously served as Chairman of the Board for DevXchange, a charity focused on International Development projects around the world. 

Anita has completed the ICD Rotman Corporate Directors Education Program and was granted the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario. 

Michelle Wassenaar is a founder of Method Law Professional Corporation, an intellectual property agency and litigation firm. Michelle represents and advises multinational, international, and domestic companies and their lawyers on patent, trademark, industrial design, and copyright law services as well as providing pro bono IP services to charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and BOOST.     

She is a lawyer, patent and trademark agent with a JD, MSc, BSc from the University of Toronto, and ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors.    

Michelle has appeared before the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Trademarks Opposition Board and has represented clients in domain name dispute proceedings. She is a speaker and author on intellectual property issues for various publications and organizations.   

She currently serves as a Board Director with DUCA (elected 2018 and 2021) and is a past board President of the non-profit CNBPA (Canadian Netherlands Business Professionals Association).   

Michelle lives and works in Toronto. She enjoys watching her three sons (ranging from 6’7” to 6’10”) play professional, and varsity beach volleyball.   

Marijke Kanters

Vice Chair

Marijke was born and educated in the Netherlands where she attended the University of Amsterdam and obtained her Masters in Law degree (LLM). Since then, she has obtained the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation, ICD.D through the Rotman School of Management (Toronto). She is a seasoned entrepreneur and the owner of Nevian Bilingual, a successful bilingual recruitment firm based in the Toronto Area.  

Marijke has served as Vice-President on the Board of the CNBPA (Canadian Netherlands Business Professionals Association) and as a Board Director of EUCOCIT (European Chamber of Commerce).  

Currently she serves as a Member of DUCA’s Board of Directors and as Vice Chair and Chair of Audit. She lives in Richmond Hill with her husband and daughter.  

Marijke’s strengths are emphasized by her experience, education and entrepreneurial mind-set. She believes in and supports DUCA’s values & purpose helping Members do more, be more and achieve more. 

Bruce is an experienced business leader with 30 years of experience in financial services. He has an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management and a deep understanding of best practices in lending and credit risk, liquidity risk, enterprise risk management, compliance and regulatory risk, and strategic planning.

Bruce’s experience includes having headed the Enterprise Risk Management function at one of Canada’s leading banks as well as leading a supervisory team at Canada’s banking supervisory, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Most recently, he was employed at one of Canada’s largest credit unions based in British Columbia where he served as Chief Risk Officer, Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer responsible for Operations, Marketing, and Product Management.

Having spent the last 5 years of his career within the Credit Union system, Bruce has a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing both DUCA and the Credit Union system as a whole and looks forward to utilizing this experience to contribute to the continued success of DUCA.

Bruce believes in DUCA’s vision and values, and the importance of its Purpose. He recognizes the key role that the Board plays in ensuring that DUCA’s strategy and culture work together to improve the financial well-being of its Members and to make DUCA a great place to work for its employees. 

Steve Dobronyi is an independent Corporate Director, Chief Executive Officer and business leader with 40 years of experience in insurance and financial services. He has served on the DUCA Board of Directors since 2019.  Outside of DUCA, he is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Accerta Health and Chair of the Board of Directors at Endeavour Consulting for Non-Profits. 

Steve’s primary areas of expertise are governance, strategy, people, finance and mergers & acquisitions. 

Steve has an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management. He’s an Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries and a graduate of Western University. 

Anne-Marie Thomas

Director

Anne-Marie has been a Member of the DUCA Board of Directors since 2016, serving on the Audit Committee and Risk Committee as past chair.  She brings finance, risk management and governance expertise to the Board drawing on senior executive experience in the private and public sectors from across the financial services industry including as Chief Investment & Pension Officer for one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans. 

Anne-Marie also serves on the Boards of the Ontario Hospital Association Legacy Fund and Habitat for Humanity (Greater Toronto Area).  In the community, she enjoys volunteering with and is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity. 

Anne-Marie obtained the Chartered Director (C.Dir) and Audit Committee Certified (ACC) designations from The Directors College, and ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.  Anne-Marie also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter and graduated with an MBA from the Ivey Business School and BBA from the University of Iowa. 

 

 

Annual General Meeting

 

DUCA holds an Annual General Meeting every April. At that time, Members have an opportunity to hear DUCA's Board and Executive Leadership Team report on the Credit Union's previous year's performance as well as strategies and plans for the coming year. In addition, the names of the successful Candidates who ran for the latest vacancies on the Board are announced. Please see our Corporate Reports below for more information on past annual performances.

 

 

 

Corporate Reports

Learn more about what we’ve been doing to make a positive impact on our Members’ lives and our communities. Our most recent corporate reports can be easily downloaded and viewed on any device that supports PDFs. 

2022 Digital Annual Report - coming soon

       
      

2022 Financial Statements

       
      

View presentation from April 27, 2023 Annual General Meeting - recording will be available after the AGM

       
      

2022 Management’s Discussion & Analysis - coming soon