Leadership & Governance

Sheila joined Central 1 in 2018, becoming President & CEO in 2022 after serving as Central 1’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Interim President & CEO. With more than 25 years of experience in business, risk and financial leadership, she has held senior roles at Payments Canada, the Bank of Canada, and served as CFO at multiple organizations. A respected voice in Canada’s financial sector, Sheila has served on the Interac^® Corp. board of directors since 2023. She holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA,CA) designation, a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, an ICD.D designation and a Master’s Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management from York University.

Priyal joined Central 1 as Chief Financial Officer in 2025. He brings nearly 30 years of financial and operational leadership experience across financial services and the public sector. Prior to Central 1, he served as CFO and EVP at Infrastructure Ontario. There he led transformative initiatives to modernize financial systems, embed data-driven decision-making and align planning to strategic priorities, contributing to significant business impact. His earlier career includes senior finance roles at Scotiabank, BMO Financial Group, Aviva Canada and Manulife Financial Corporation. Priyal holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from York University, a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University, and the CPA and ICD.D designations.

Julie joined Central 1 in 2016, assuming her current role in 2023 after holding progressively senior positions in client experience and member relations. Prior to Central 1, Julie held key positions at the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, building strong relationships with credit union leaders and supporting global co-operative development. Julie is a graduate of the University of Guelph and holds a postgraduate certificate in leadership from Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

Brent joined Central 1 in 2015 as Chief Investment Officer, bringing decades of financial leadership experience from senior treasury roles at Manulife Financial and earlier positions with CIBC in Toronto and New York. At Central 1, he manages a $10 billion investment portfolio and oversees funding and financial services for clients across Canada. Brent holds a Master of Business Administration from McMaster University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. He serves on the board of Aviso Wealth Inc., chairs its Audit Committee, and sits on the boards of CU CUMIS Wealth Holdings, Co-operators Insurance, and Central 1 Trust Company. 

Barclay joined Central 1 in 2025 as Chief Payments Officer, bringing more than 25 years of experience in both Canadian and international payments and financial services. He has held multiple executive roles at TD Bank, including VP and Head of Product, Canadian Credit Cards – where he led the largest product and loyalty transformation in the bank’s history, as well as VP, Customer Strategy for the Personal Bank. Earlier in his career, Barclay spent 13 years at American Express, leading end-to-end payments businesses and some of the company’s largest global partnerships. He most recently served as Chief Payments Officer at Metrolinx, where he led the transformation of the fare payments system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton (GTHA) and Ottawa regions.

Barclay is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Carol Ann joined Central 1 in 2023 as Chief Risk Officer, responsible for risk management, compliance, regulatory and government affairs. She previously served as Chief Risk Officer for both the Bank of Canada and Payments Canada, where she led enterprise, operational and financial risk functions. Carol Ann also held senior roles at the Bank of Canada focused on financial stability and oversight of systemically important financial market infrastructures. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management from York University.

Dan joined Central 1 in 2025 as Chief Technology & Operations Officer, bringing more than 20 years of financial services technology experience. He previously held executive roles at ATB Financial, including Chief Data and AI Officer and Head of Banking, where he led large-scale digital and data transformation initiatives. Dan’s focus has consistently been on aligning enterprise technology strategy to business outcomes, delivering results through long-term, scalable innovation. He also serves as Chair of the Board for MindFuel, supporting access to STEM education for underrepresented youth.

Barry is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union, a position he has held since 2016. Prior to joining SASCU, he was interim CEO at Northern Savings Credit Union (six months) after 17 years in management roles at First West Credit Union and Envision Financial.

Barry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Queens University. He has served on a number of boards in the not-for-profit (Co-operative Development Foundation) and financial sectors and industry advisory committees and is currently on Salmon Arm’s Board of Economic Development. He is a Lean Certified Executive.

Director since 2021.

Dan Dickinson is the Chief Information Officer at BioScript Solutions. Dan is an expert in driving digital transformation and project execution, and he plays a pivotal role in using data and technology to achieve BioScript’s strategy.

Dan grew up on a farm in Nova Scotia and holds both a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA from Dalhousie University. His career led him to Toronto where he spent more than 20 years in the banking industry at some of Canada’s largest and most innovative banks.

Dan’s experience includes leading the Canadian digital channels at BMO and spearheading the creation of financial challenger EQ Bank. Most recently, Dan worked as Chief Information Officer for Arterra Wines Canada, where he built an entirely new e-commerce technology stack and modernized their IT team structure. Prior to that, Dan was the Chief Information Officer at EQ Bank where he led the organization to be the most technologically adept bank in the country. Dan was responsible for all technology applications, data, operations, and security across the enterprise and reported directly to the CEO.

Dan is interested in leveraging his financial services and cross-sector knowledge of technology and transformation to contribute to Central 1. Throughout his career, Dan has supported customer-centric organizations, like Central 1, and he believes his unique functional skillset and values-based leadership will enable him to contribute to Central 1’s growth and continued success.

Jeff van Duynhoven is a former Executive Director and Senior Payments Advisor at Payments Canada. Jeff is a multifaceted, energetic executive leader who seeks challenging business opportunities. Jeff is strong leader with extensive strategic senior executive business experience and leadership in payments, operations and web technologies, as well as a demonstrated commitment to enhancing both the client and employee experience while delivering results for shareholders.

Since his leadership roles at Payments Canada, Jeff has been an External Consultant to assist the Bank of Canada with Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) registration and related activities. Jeff is formerly the President and Head of North American Merchant Services at TD Merchant Services and has held several other senior executive roles at TD Canada Trust and TD Bank. Jeff’s areas of expertise include Payments, Merchant Acquiring, Cards, Online Banking, Cash & Treasury Management, and Business Banking.

Shawn was appointed Libro Credit Union’s President & CEO in 2023. He has 25 years of credit union and financial services experience and is committed to lifelong learning, leadership and development.

Previously Shawn was President and CEO of Prospera Credit Union in BC and, most recently, CEO at SaskCentral in Regina.

Shawn holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s School of Business, attained his ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of Business, and completed the Strategic Leadership program at the Banff Leadership Centre. He has been recognized nationally with awards including the 2009 National Young Leader award, selected by Credit Union Central of Canada.

Director since 2024.

Dr. Marry Gunaratnam is the Senior Vice President of IT at Northern Credit Union. Marry is known as a strategic technology, data, and payments executive with 20+ years of experience. In her role at Northern Credit Union, Marry has led a multi-year modernization portfolio encompassing core banking transformation and payments.

Throughout Marry’s career, she has established herself as a trusted advisor to CEOs, executive leadership teams, and boards within complex, highly regulated financial services and public-interest environments, with over a decade at the executive level providing enterprise-wide oversight of technology, data, cybersecurity, and digital platforms for member-owned and systemically important institutions.

Marry is a proven leader of enterprise-scale transformation impacting payments-adjacent platforms, core and shared services modernization, data and analytics operating models, responsible AI governance, and cloud, network, and infrastructure resilience. She connects technology strategy with financial performance, regulatory expectations, and enterprise risk, translating complexity into clear, actionable insight that supports effective governance and sustainable growth.

Brian Harris is President and CEO of Beem Credit Union, an amalgamation of Gulf & Fraser Fishermen’s and Interior Savings Credit Unions on January 1, 2024. Prior to assuming the role at Beem, Brian was President and CEO of Interior Savings since 2022.

Before joining Interior Savings, Brian was Chief Product Officer at Nets, a leading payments provider based in the Nordics, where he and his team helped revolutionize the consumer and small business digital experience for more than 150 European financial institutions. He also held executive leadership roles at Currencies Direct and Western Union Business Solutions, two companies leading the evolution of international money transfer systems and business payment solutions in Europe and across the globe.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management from Royal Roads University and has completed the Strategic Leadership program at Said Business School, University of Oxford and Product Management at Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

Director since 2024.

Wellington Holbrook is the President and CEO of Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union. With a 30-year career in Canada’s financial services industry, Wellington has focused his career on cooperatives and banking institutions with missions that extend beyond profits.

As a CEO currently leading one of the largest credit unions in Canada, Wellington brings an operating perspective that reflects the realities, challenges, and opportunities facing credit unions nationwide. Wellington’s experience spans retail and commercial banking, wealth, payments, brand, community impact, risk resilience, technology modernization, and strategic transformation.

Prior to becoming CEO of Vancity, Wellington held progressively senior roles at financial institutions across Canada. At connectFirst Credit Union, Wellington served as Chief Operating Officer before taking on the role of CEO, leading the credit union through mergers and the integration of several credit unions under a new brand. At ATB Financial, he led their retail, business and agriculture banking lines of business and, as Chief Transformation and Technology Officer, he
led an ambitious digital, business and cultural transformation at the largest Alberta-based financial institution. Serving as the Senior Vice-President of Operations at the Business Development Bank of Canada, Wellington played a pivotal role in leading and shaping the bank’s business across Western Canada.

Fluent in French and English, Wellington holds a B. Comm from the University of Manitoba and an MBA with distinction from the University of Oxford. In 2008, he was invited by the Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada to partake in a yearlong program focused on foreign diplomacy, where he honed his leadership skills.

Karen Horcher is an experienced board director, committee chair, and board chair. A financial leader with a career in treasury and institutional finance, she has advised and trained fellow professionals in treasury, banking, and finance. As a consultant, she has worked with multinational corporations, financial regulators, and financial institutions throughout North America.

Prior to consulting, Karen worked for some of the world’s largest banks, including MUFG and Barclays, in global transaction banking and capital markets. She traded and actively managed positions in foreign exchange, interest rates, and money markets with P&L responsibility. She traded as a market-maker including related derivatives such as forwards, options, and swaps. She also advised large corporations and governments on their hedging strategies, debt issuance, and financial risk management.

Since 2005, Karen has worked with significant organizations to support mitigation of financial risk, streamline treasury processes including wholesale payments. Her projects include treasury technology, payment fraud prevention, treasury controls, and cross-border cash consolidation and liquidity management. She has also provided her expertise to financial regulators and in legal cases.

As an educator, she has shared her knowledge with financial and accounting professionals through workshops, presentations, and keynote presentations to national and international groups. She taught for the Treasury Management Association of Canada and was a faculty member of the Treasury Management executive program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School from 2013 to 2020.

Since 2004, Karen has served on several significant boards, including federal and provincial Crown corporations, a regulator, and a NFP foundation. She has experience as a board chair and chairing audit and finance committees. She is the past board chair of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC, the regulator for 40,000 CPAs and 6,000 CPA students. A diligent and ethical director, she chaired her board’s cybersecurity committee following a high-profile attack. She has HR experience, having successfully hired for the CEO role, as well as providing advice for the CFO role. Karen is a CPA and was elected to Fellowship (FCPA) in 2017. She is also a CFA charter holder and holds the ICD.D credential. She is the author of Essentials of Financial Risk Management and Essentials of Managing Treasury, both published by Wiley in New York.

From 1987 until her retirement in 2015, Penny-Lynn was Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Payments Canada. She has over 25 years’ experience in payments, clearing and settlement, ecommerce, compliance, risk management and corporate governance. She has served on and co-chaired a number of payment system committees and also served as a director of the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario from 2011 to 2015 and as Vice-Chair from 2013-2015. Penny-Lynn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University, and an LL.B from the University of Ottawa. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Director since 2015.

Shawn Neumann is the Board Chair for Tru Cooperative Bank, a role he has held since 2011. Shawn’s current responsibilities include serving on the Government Relations and Partnership, and Human Resources committees. As Board Chair, Shawn is also an ex-officio member of all other committees.

Shawn’s academic credentials include an ICD.D designation and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Simon Fraser University.

A visionary in the tech industry, Shawn’s entrepreneurial spirit is matched by his commitment to the credit union movement. As Co-Founder & Partner of CBTW, he has orchestrated a pivotal shift from a multi-brand operation to a unified brand, targeting key sectors such as Financial Services, Industrial/Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences, and Retail. Under his leadership, CBTW strives to become a globally recognized partner for innovative tech and business solutions, championing collaboration for a sustainable future. His previous tenure as a Partner at Versett showcased his strategic and technical acumen.

Shawn’s foundational role as the founder and CEO of Domain7 led to its expansive growth across Canada, the US, and the UK, complemented by the creation of Domain7 Studios. His efforts have been central to Domain7’s acclaim in driving human-centered transformation. Shawn’s strategic foresight has been instrumental in several pivotal credit union mergers and acquisitions, contributing to the formation and expansion of Tru  Cooperative Bank to establish it as a benchmark in cooperative banking across Canada.

Sunny Sodhi is responsible for overseeing the Enterprise Strategy and Corporate Development, Innovation, Legal, Corporate Governance, and Government Relations within Meridian.

Prior to joining Meridian in 2014, Sunny focused his legal practice on advising domestic and international banks and insurance companies on a broad array of complex corporate and regulatory matters and practiced law in Toronto with Torys LLP and then Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP as a partner. He also worked abroad with top international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in its Singapore office, focusing on cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Sunny graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), and from the University of Victoria with a Juris Doctor. He has been a member of the Bar in Ontario and New York since 2003.

Director since 2019.