Board of Directors

As of the effective date of the merger, the initial Board of Directors of the merged credit union will consist of 18 directors, comprising the 14 current directors of Beem, and four legacy directors from BlueShore Financial. Although Beem’s Rules allow for up to 18 directors, the ideal size of the Board is a lower number of directors. Board terms for the BlueShore Financial legacy directors have been staggered to, along with the pre-existing staggered terms of the current Beem directors, help achieve this reduction while also ensuring there is representation from both BlueShore Financial and Beem.

The legacy directors of BlueShore Financial who will serve as additional directors of Beem and their initial terms are set out below:

 

The following are the current Beem directors who will continue their current terms of office as directors of the merged credit union, subject to normal course changes through retirements and resignations:

Merged credit union Board Director biographies

The following individuals will be Beem Directors as of January 1, 2025.

Doug Sweeting, Board Chair
Doug has 40+ years of experience in the financial service industry, working with insurance companies, credit unions, securities dealers, and a bank. He has owned several insurance agencies and developed wealth management divisions for BC credit unions. He is actively involved with non-profit organizations and is a past board member for the Canadian Cancer Society, BCY division. Doug holds his ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Rob Shirra, Vice-Chair
Rob is a community-minded business executive with a strong commitment to the credit union system. From 1983-2017, he owned a successful management consulting company as a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and worked with many large-scale national and international clients. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Fellow of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (FCMC) and served as President and Chair of the BC Institute of Certified Management Consultants (ICMCBC) for seven consecutive years. In 2015 he was awarded the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. More recently, in 2022, Mr. Shirra completed his ACCUD (Accredited Canadian Credit Union Director) certification. Prior to moving to the Okanagan, he served on the Board of another large BC credit union, where he chaired their Investment & Lending committee. Since 2019, he led the Board of Interior Savings as Chair, until the successful completion of the amalgamation that created Beem Credit Union early in 2024.

Linda Archer, Director
Linda has extensive experience in the cooperative system, business operations and governance. Through her work with the City of Vancouver and 20+ years in the credit union system, Linda has held senior leadership positions in human resources, marketing, operational consulting and member relations. Linda has completed formal governance training through the Institute of Corporate Directors and has facilitated credit union governance education for Canadian Credit Unions, as well as developed and facilitated cooperative and credit union governance education as an international development volunteer, primarily in Africa. Linda is a recipient of the BC Credit Union Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award and has been a frequent speaker locally, nationally and internationally through the World Council of Credit Unions.

Karri Brinnen, Director
Karri is an accomplished entrepreneur, a self-employed bookkeeper and brings strong experience in governance to the board. She previously worked at Interior Savings as the Senior Governance Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the CEO & Board of Directors. As a governance specialist, Karri was a founding member of the BC Credit Union Governance Professionals Group as well as a past member of Governance Professionals of Canada and has completed Levels A & B of the Credit Union Director Achievement Program. From 2019-2022, Karri served on the Board of Habitat for Humanity Okanagan where she held the position of Vice-Chair (2021-2022) and Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee.

Christine Dacre, Director
Christine is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 15+ years in executive and senior level financial positions and was the past CFO of TransLink. She has significant experience in finance, strategic planning, corporate leadership, risk management, internal controls, human resource processes and information technology. She is a resident of New Westminster, with an interest in the community. She currently sits on the boards of the Organized Crime Agency of BC and the BC Lottery Corporation. Her belief is that a credit union is a part of the community it serves. She holds her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Daniel Drexler, Director
Daniel Drexler is a community-minded professional with a well-rounded background in municipal government, economic development, and information technology. Daniel works for the District of Barriere and serves as the Chief Administrative Officer where he is responsible for the implementation of Mayor and Council's strategic priorities and oversees all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the municipality. An active volunteer in his previous community of Grand Forks and the Boundary region, Daniel served as a board member of Community Futures Boundary for five years. Daniel was honoured as Volunteer of the Year by Community Futures Boundary in 2013. Daniel also spent two years as a board member of the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce, and he served on the Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union Board for 7 years prior to its merger with Gulf & Fraser, when he joined the Board of Gulf & Fraser.

Elmer Epp, Director
Elmer’s membership in Interior Savings goes back 40+ years. He has also been a member of Interior Savings’ Board for 20+ years, including serving as the Chair from 1998 to April 2020. From 2013-2019 he served on the Board of Central 1 Credit Union, which represents all the credit unions in BC and most of the credit unions in Ontario. While at Central 1 he served as Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee. Mr. Epp has been a lawyer for 40 years, specializing in corporate and commercial law. He is now retired, giving him more time to dedicate to his position on Beem’s Board.

Reg Foot, Director
Reg has been employed for 20+ years as a Sales Manager at Carrier Lumber in Prince George. He has a passion for the co-operative system and was a Board member of Spruce Credit Union for over 10 years with the last two as the Board Chair. Reg is a graduate of the Credit Union Director Achievement (CUDA) program and holds a diploma in Marketing Management. He is also the owner/operator of a water ski school that has been in operation for over 30 years.

Nate Hampson, Director
Nathan was born, raised, and has lived in Abbotsford his entire life. He and his wife, Maja, are the proud parents of two young children. He has worked in the technology industry for 15 years. In that time, he built a successful consultancy firm that has helped hundreds of businesses build strategy and cope with change around technology and digital transformation. This includes businesses and not-for-profits in the medical, legal, financial, education, agriculture, manufacturing, and various other sectors.

He is passionate about building sustainable organizations that provide social good. He is excited about cooperative values and the alternative vision they provide: to build a strong, healthy, and socially beneficial financial institution whose duty is first and foremost to its members.

Tracey Scott, Director
Tracey has been in the construction industry for over 30 years, starting in the field by swinging a hammer, and then moving on to various sectors as Production & Logistics Manager, Business Owner, and ultimately her current role as Project Manager with Quantum Properties. Born and raised in Abbotsford/Mission, Tracey became a member of Matsqui Credit Union in 1976 and is a strong believer in the cooperative principles of the credit union. The importance of putting members first and providing support to the communities where our members live, work and play are paramount to Tracey’s values.

Bruce Tisdale, Director
Bruce is a Chartered Professional Accountant with an extensive background in senior school district business administration. He also provides consulting services to school districts and works with the Ministry of Education. Bruce has served on various provincial committees in areas such as labour relations, technology, shared services, and finance. He continues to serve as a mentor to administration professionals new to the education sector. He is employed as Secretary Treasurer for a smaller school district in the Okanagan. He and his family have been involved with credit unions for more than fifty years.

Lee Varseveld, Director
Lee first became a member of Gulf & Fraser in the 1980s as a salmon and herring fisherman. Since fishing, Lee has enjoyed a long and rewarding career in the marine insurance industry as an employee of Pacific Coast Fishermen’s Mutual Marine Insurance Company- a membership-driven Mutual. Lee is a Chartered Insurance Professional and currently serves as General Manager of Pacific Coast Fishermen’s Mutual Marine Insurance Company reporting to its Board of Directors. Since joining the Gulf & Fraser Board in 2014, Lee has served on every committee of the Board and currently serves as Chair for the Investment & Lending Committee of Beem. Lee continues a path of life-long learning to strengthen his contribution to the continued success of the credit union and holds the designation of Certified Credit Union Director.

Bill Wilby, Director
Bill is an experienced credit union board director who is passionate about cooperative organizations and their potential to enhance the lives of members and communities. Bill’s hometown is Alert Bay, but Bill and his wife Sandra have lived in the Grand Forks area for the last 40 years. Bill has served a combined twelve years as a credit union director at two credit unions, Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union and Stabilization Central Credit Union. Bill has been the chair of credit union peer group three, the chair of the local Agricultural Society and volunteers for the local food co-op. Bill is an Accredited Canadian Credit Union Director (ACCUD), a Certified Credit Union Director (CCD I & II), holds his ICD.D designation and holds many certificates related to governance and co-ops.

Tracey Wolsey, Director
Tracey is an energy industry executive committed to the north. Born and raised in northeast BC, Tracey continues to reside in the Fort St. John area with her husband and extended family after retiring from a long and productive career with Suncor Energy from 1998-2021. Her post-secondary education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Calgary, a Master’s degree from the University of Northern British Columbia and a leadership program at Harvard. She has received several awards including Suncor President’s Operational Excellence Awards and a BC ‘Outstanding Resources Woman of Honor’ award.

Diana Chan, Director
Diana is a business owner and former executive in the credit union system, both in BC and nationally. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant with extensive experience in human resources, finance and governance. Diana holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation (ICD.D). Diana received her fellowship from the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC in 2018 and was presented with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012.

Diana is a Director of both the Whistler Housing Authority and the Whistler Community Services Society. Diana has also volunteered with various community boards including YWCA of Metro Vancouver, Whistler Institute for Learning Society and Basketball BC. She served as a trustee of the BC Credit Union Employees’ Pension and Benefits Trusts from 2013 to 2015. She holds an Honours degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Diana resides in Whistler.

Lynne Charbonneau, Director
Lynne Charbonneau is a Vice-President of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal and Adjunct Professor for the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of BlueShore Financial, she serves on the Board of Directors of Inuvialuit Development Corporation, a diversified investment, venture capital and management holding company owned on behalf of the Inuit of Canada’s western Arctic. Lynne has served on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations over the last two decades and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation (ICD.D).

Lynne is past chair of the Board of Directors of Actsafe Safety Association, a worker health and safety organization for the production of motion picture, television, live events and performing arts in British Columbia. In recent years, Lynne has also served on the Futures Task Force of the Law Society of British Columbia and on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. From 2005 until 2018, Lynne served as Deputy General Counsel at HSBC Bank Canada. Prior to her time with HSBC, Lynne was a partner of the Canadian national law firm, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

Lynne received the 2018 Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA) Innovation Award for creation of value in a law department, the 2013 Lexpert Zenith Award recognizing her as one of an elite group of “Women Leaders in the Legal Profession” in Canada and a 2008 Lexpert designation as a “Rising Star—Leading Lawyer Under 40”. Lynne resides in North Vancouver.

Oliver Grüter-Andrew, Director
Oliver is the President and Chief Executive Officer of E-Comm 9-1-1, which answers the over two million 9-1-1 calls made annually by British Columbians. His 30-year business career includes significant experience with information systems management and digital transformation. He held leadership roles in the utility and consumer retail industries and served in executive positions at the University of British Columbia and the Provincial Health Services Authority prior to his current role.

Oliver has been a governor and volunteer for not-for-profits and social ventures, including 10 years on the Board of the German-Canadian Benevolent Society of B.C. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of London. Oliver was born and raised in Germany and lived and worked in the United Kingdom before moving to Vancouver in 1998, where he still resides today.

Julie McGill, Director
Julie is an experienced private equity and venture capital investor with a track record of bringing together people and resources to successfully scale organizations. She is currently General/Limited Partner in several direct and indirect private equity investment funds. She is focused on using collaborative investment principles to generate outsized returns and power equitable change in capital markets.

Previously, Julie has managed private asset portfolios in both a family office environment and an institutionally backed, top quartile performing North American buyout fund. Prior to entering private investment, she spent the first decade of her career in professional service firms, moving quickly from an audit to transaction advisory capacity. Through her work investing across a diverse range of both early-stage technology and mature companies, Julie brings a broad spectrum of operational, transactional, capital management and governance experience. Julie is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation (ICD.D).

Julie sits on several private company boards and is an active member of the community. She is past Chair of Central City Foundation and is involved in several local youth and sport organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University. Julie resides in Vancouver.
 

Administrative office(s)

The head office and registered office for the merged credit union will be the current head office of Beem Credit Union located in Kelowna, British Columbia. Regional Departments that are primarily office functions and non-member-facing positions of the merged credit union will be administered on a distributed workforce model, supported by regional offices that serve key regions of the province. The records office of the merged credit union will be the offices of Edwards, Kenny & Bray LLP, in Vancouver, British Columbia, or such other law firm or location as the merged credit union determines from time to time.

Branch Locations

The Proposed Merger will create a wide network of approximately 66 branches—along with insurance offices. In time, this will allow members to do their banking wherever it is most convenient for them. We expect to offer members personal, business, commercial, insurance, and wealth management solutions and advice.

• BlueShore Financial branch locations
• Branch locations for Beem’s founding credit unions:
  • Gulf & Fraser branch locations
  • Interior Savings branch locations
  • North Peace Savings branch locations

Call and Service Centres

The merged credit union will operate call centre(s) that offer members extended hours of service, in addition to a Member Service Centre/Member Hub with the capacity to administer credit, complete transactions, and provide members with complex advice-based solutions.

Patronage & Member Rewards

The merged credit union’s legacy patronage programs will be aligned as part of an overall integration plan.