David Lussier replaces Pierre-Marcel Desjardins at the helm of the Board of Directors

Pierre-Marcel Desjardins was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of UNI Financialoperative for the first time in 2012, making way for David Lussier as new board members were elected during the cooperative's annual general meeting at the CCNB in ​​Dieppe.

UNI members can also follow everything online or go to the simulcast at the University of Moncton's Edmundston campus or at the Caraquet Cultural Centre.

“It's been 29 years [qu’UNI] He is part of me. I loved it, but I think it all has to end. I wanted to pass this on to someone else. “It is not impossible for me to come back, but I deemed it necessary to take a break,” explained Mr. Desjardins, who joined the board of directors of the Popular Fund of Saint Anselme in 1995.

“I have significant experience in governance and with federal and provincial financial institutions. I think that's what people saw that allowed me to be elected firstly in the North East, and secondly as president of the CA,” said his successor, David Lussier.

In total, UNI members have been invited to elect or re-elect six people who will sit on the Board of Directors, including Mr. Lussier himself as well as Jean-François Saucier, who has been re-elected and who will serve as Vice-President.

It is the fifteen members of the Constituent Assembly who determine who among them will assume the presidency.

“I am very proud of my election and that my colleagues on the Council have placed their trust in me,” Mr. Lucier said during his first interviews with the media as President.

“I'm new. I have a lot to learn from my colleagues around the table. I think I will bring with me some experience that could be useful, because I have worked with the movement for a long time.”

Although David Lussier is a new member of the Board of Directors, he has already gained sixteen years of experience on UNI's Executive Committee, dealing with finance, business development, and the insurance company. The man who is also an accountant by training is president of Vestcor, an investment management firm, and a member of Revenue Canada's board of directors. He was even nominated for the CEO position after the departure of Camille Theriault in 2016. Robert Moreau was eventually chosen.

Questionnaire to comment on the image of the UNI, due to the crisis of the digital transition to the year 2023, there is a framework at the beginning of the administrative council, the new president will not enter into the plan. specific. However, he emphasized that he shares the optimistic vision described by the financial cooperative's CEO, Camille Theriault, the day before, in Moncton.

“I believe in him very much. It's a bad year in an 87-year history, and we're in a good position,” Mr. Lussier said.

Enhance experience

“The only changes – which were previously announced – were to modify the structure of the Board of Directors to further enhance the expertise that can be found around the table,” explained Pierre-Marcel Desjardins about the new elements that emerged from the last annual general meeting that he chaired.

Some Council members remain regional representatives, while others serve as representatives of their areas of expertise.

The outgoing president explained that the new elected officials will particularly benefit from their knowledge in the areas of information technology, governance and artificial intelligence.

UNI is always looking to modernize its digital interface, and on Friday, the day before the annual general meeting, CEO Camille Thériault noted that the Acadian financial institution must be “agile and innovative.” He also mentioned exploring “open banking” systems, artificial intelligence and data interpretation.

“We will seek the resources that allow us to achieve our goal and we are very confident of having a very secure system in this regard,” Mr. Desjardins stressed after being questioned about the vulnerability of member data in the context of exploring these new digital avenues.

As for the confidence of members in the financial institution, based on what was said during the General Assembly, the former President of the Constituent Assembly believes that they are ready to move forward with UNI.

“Some members have expressed the frustration they have felt over the year, but I think everyone has come to the conclusion that things have stabilized and we need to move forward.”