Ellen Pekeles Email Address

Chair of the Board of Directors

Vancity is a financial services company which offers credit union, wealth management, investing, banking, vancouver, victoria and community investment etc.

Retired Senior Executive and Board Director in 3 sectors: health care, banking & retail. Board Chair of Mountain Equipment Coop 2016-2019. Prior to joining the MEC Board in 2013 served on nine other not for profit, cooperative, advisory, public sector, and foundation Boards over a 20 year period. 10 years as an Executive in the financial sector at Canada's largest credit union, Vancity. Four different leadership roles in Strategy, Sustainability, Human Resources and Operations (IT, HR, and Facilities & Environmental Management). 27 years in health care serving as a senior executive & leader for 19 years and 6 years as a physiotherapist. Chief Operating Officer in Vancouver Coastal Health 2002-2006; serving 300,000 people in 11 municipalities through 3500 employees. Prior executive leadership roles included VP Clinical Services in the North Shore Health Region, Vancouver; Administrator Misericordia, Regional Leader for Surgery in Capital Health, and Regional Leader for Child Health and Stollery Children’s Health Centre, Edmonton. Earlier senior leadership roles included Surgery, Ambulatory Care, and Rehabilitation. CCHSA Health Systems Surveyor 1997-2002. Was recruited to Vancity Credit Union in 2006 to build healthy communities as a financial cooperative and values-based bank. It was the job of a lifetime. Specialties: Governance, Cooperatives, Executive Leadership, Human Resources, Operations, Information Technology, Facilities, Environmental Management, Strategy, and Sustainability. Extensive experience in major restructuring/downsizing in health care, including system redesign and integration of care. Physician relationships, union relationships, government liaison and politician relationships at all levels of government. Education: BSc (Physical Therapy) University of Toronto, 1979; Master of Health Administration, University of Ottawa, 1987; Chartered Director, Directors College, McMaster University, 2017.