Coast Capital Savings Board Names Bill Cooke Chair

SURREY, BC--(Marketwired - May 05, 2014) - Coast Capital announced today that, in line with the credit union's established succession plan, board director Bill Cooke will assume the role of board chair. Cooke will replace the credit union's founding chair Bill Wellburn who is stepping aside from the role but remaining as a board director after 14 years of leadership.

Cooke undertakes his new responsibilities after serving as a Coast Capital board director since 2007 and chair of the risk review committee since 2010. Cooke has held senior management positions in public companies, financial institutions and provincial government. He retired in 2006 as CEO of MD Private Trust Company, a national, member-based investment and wealth management firm. He is currently a director of Central One Credit Union, providing wholesale banking and trade services for BC and Ontario credit unions.

"Bill Cooke has done an excellent job on Coast Capital's board over the last seven years and has clearly demonstrated that he can lead the board of a complex financial organization like our credit union," said Wellburn. "He brings extensive professional, executive and governance experience to the role and will be an outstanding board chair. In my continued role as a director, I look forward to supporting Bill as he assumes his new role."

Wellburn was first elected as a director of Pacific Coast Savings in 1992 and continued as a director and the board chair when the credit union merged with Richmond Savings in 2000 to form Coast Capital Savings. He oversaw the subsequent merger with Surrey Metro Savings in 2002. During his tenure, Coast Capital grew from 212,000 to 512,000 members, increased assets under administration from $4.3 to $14.8 billion and contributed more than $50 million to community organizations.

"Bill Wellburn has provided exceptional leadership to Coast Capital at a time of great change and challenges within the world financial industry," said Coast Capital governance chair Glenn Wong. "We thank Bill for his contributions that have led Coast Capital to become one of the largest and most successful credit unions in Canada. We look forward to his continued leadership and vision in his role as director." 

Wong also praised Wellburn as a champion for good governance not only at Coast Capital, but also the entire credit union sector. He implemented numerous industry leading policies which considerably strengthened the Coast Capital board, attracted strong directors and executive team, and resulted in Coast Capital being recognized with an Innovations in Corporate Governance Award from the Canadian Co-operative Association.

For example, as a best practice in governance, the Coast Capital board began board succession planning in 2012 which led to identifying Cooke as the top choice for chair succession earlier this year. As well, a process to ensure renewal in directors and their roles has been built into the governance of the board. Coast Capital's board of directors has seen an 80 per cent change in positions in the last seven years, with eight out of 10 directors new to the board since 2007.

Bill Cooke thanked the board for the appointment to his new role, and expressed his commitment to delivering Coast Capital's purpose to change the way Canadians feel about banking, forever.

"It is a tremendous honour to serve as board chair on behalf of Coast Capital's employees, members and the communities where we operate," said Cooke. "I look forward to working with my board colleagues as we continue to reinvigorate and bring greater value to the meaning of credit union membership -- a value that will shape Coast Capital for the future."

Coast Capital's board directors are:

• Bill Cooke, Chair 
• Doug Brownridge
• Daniel Burns 
• Robin Chakrabarti 
• Christian Findlay
• Mary Jordan
• Christopher Trumpy
• Bill Wellburn
• Faye Wightman
• Glenn Wong

About Coast Capital Savings
Coast Capital Savings is Canada's second largest credit union, owned by its 512,000 members. It has 50 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia and has exciting plans to grow. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. Coast Capital offers one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™ and was named one of 2014's BC's Top Employers. 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.