bowvalleycu - Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors ensures that our business strategies are aligned with the best interests of our members. Directors are BVCU members who are elected by their fellow members, for our members.

Our Board's mandate includes the overall responsibility and authority for the strategic direction of the credit union including leadership, stewardship, corporate governance, and monitoring performance.

The bottom line? The Board is in charge of making sure we're headed in the best direction for our members, that we have a solid plan for getting there. The Board meets at least 6 times each year. Directors also serve on board committees to share their expertise on specific topics, like governance.

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Kevin Karpovich

Chair, Calgary

Paul Stutz

Vice Chair, Cochrane

Raj Ghosh

Secretary, Calgary

Rich Mottram

Director, Banff

Andre Aubut

Director, Airdrie

Brad LaForge

Director, Calgary

Laurel Pedersen

Director, Cochrane

Marty Yucytus

Director, Calgary

Kevin has been with Key Savings + Credit Union and BVCU for over 40years. He was on the Board of Directors for Key Savings + Credit Union for 2 years prior to the merger in 2010 and has continued to serve the membership on the BVCU Board ever since. Kevin currently services on the Governance and Audit, Finance & Risk Committees.

In his spare time Kevin enjoys hiking, golfing, and skiing with family and friends. Kevin is married, has two grown sons, and resides in Calgary.

Paul has been a life-long member of BVCU. Paul joined our Board in February of 2020, and he currently sits on the Governance and Audit, Finance & Risk Committees.

Outside the Boardroom, Paul began his successful career in Real Estate after retiring from the Canadian Ski Team in 2014. Paul currently sells real estate in Cochrane, Calgary, and the Bow Valley. In his spare time, Paul enjoys spending time with his family and skiing when possible.

Raj joined BVCU's Board in 2022, bringing with him more than 30 years' experience in business transformation and process improvement, accounting and finance,
information technology, enterprise risk management, operational processes, enterprise internal controls, ethics reporting, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance processes. Raj has held various positions in many sectors including post-secondary institutions, Government and Crown Corporations, Resource Extractive Industries, City-Owned Utilities, Retail and Agricultural, Media, and NFP industries.

Raj is a proud alumnus of the University of Calgary Master of Business Administration (MBA) program and have a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta. In addition, he holds his CPA, CMA designations as well as other designations in data privacy, enterprise governance, and enterprise risk management.

Raj has previous board experience which he is looking forward to leveraging with BVCU, coupled with his commitment to giving back to his community at large.

Rich joined the Credit Union in July 2018 and joined the Board of Directors shortly thereafter in February 2019. Rich has a wealth of experience sitting on various other boards which he brings with him to BVCU.

Rich has a degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and is the Chief Financial Officer of the Banff Hospitality Collective.

In his spare time, Rich is an avid golfer and skier.

Andre joined BVCU's Board in 2022, but he has always been community minded and devoted to helping others and making our community a better place to live. He has been part of the Airdrie Rotary Club for more than 20 years, is a past Club President, and past Chair of the International Grants committee for Rotary International. Andre is also currently a board member for AMSQ and the Airdrie and District Community Foundation.

Andre has been a Real Estate Agent for more than 20 years, and he specializes in Commercial Real Estate with a great deal of experience in New Project Development.

Andre has lived, worked, and raised my two children Alex and Jessica with my wife Wendy in the City of Airdrie for the past 30 years after being posted to Calgary with
the Canadian Armed Forces in 1988.

Brad is a native to Alberta, having resided in Calgary before settling in Rockyview County in 2021.

An entrepreneur to his core, having owned and operated 2 successful ventures, Brad is at home in the boardroom.

He holds a deep-rooted belief in individual rights, championing freedom of speech and bodily autonomy, especially in the realm of provincial politics. Brad is a values driven community advocate. His diverse interests extend to travel, cooking and hockey.

Laurel has resided in the Bow Valley Region her entire life and has been a member of Bow Valley Credit Union since the 1990s.

She has a strong financial acumen and a breadth of experience in banking, but also in the not-for-profit and charitable sectors in the Cochrane and area community. She has a heart for building the strength of local economies, small businesses, etc. and is familiar with the character and distinctiveness of surrounding small towns like Canmore, Bragg Creek and Cremona. She believes in people and the interconnectedness of families and communities.

A proud born and raised Albertan, Marty has a strong sense of purpose to contribute to both his family and his community's ability to flourish and thrive.

Marty graduated from the University of Calgary with a business degree, and worked for a major charter financial institution for 10 years in various cities within Alberta. Marty has recently sold his business that he spent the last 24 years building, and is now turning his focus to new adventures, including supporting BVCU's growth.