post archives
“Treat people fairly and give people the right opportunities.” It’s a recurring phrase for Paul von Saarn. He wants to bring out the best in people and situations, and it’s what he does everyday in his role as senior vice president of risk management and credit at First West. If he wasn’t helping fund today’s go-getters and entrepreneurs in B.C., he’d likely be in Ghana, assisting credit unions there like he did as a mentor last year.
Some...
As an eight-year-old, Shawn Neumann remembers going down to the local Clearbrook Credit Union branch to open a savings account.
“My grandfather was one of the founders of Clearbrook Credit Union,” says Shawn. His grandfather was account #4 at the credit union, which would grow into First Heritage Savings and Envision credit unions, eventually becoming First West Credit Union. Shawn deposited his first few dollars in 1980 and he’s been a member ever since...
New generation of women entrepreneurs ready to grow small business into big business
—Kristi Miller
Out of necessity or passion, women throughout history have been active entrepreneurs. In Canada today, it’s reported that up to 50 per cent of small businesses are women-owned. But as plentiful as women-led small businesses may be, there are challenges. A 2009 University of Ottawa survey sums it up like this: women-owned businesses are “...
For Lee Rhodes, having to explain his role as senior-vice president of People Services is a common occurrence even after 24 years leading change initiatives, recruiting talent and furthering team development in world class organizations. In short, he is a man who wears many hats.
“It’s a profession that everyone thinks they can do,” says Lee. But the key word is profession, for which specialized knowledge is an intrinsic demand. “People in business want the...
Tom Webster is the marathon-running CFO of First West Credit Union. As is often the case with long distance runners, their experience overcoming obstacles can be applied off the track. As such, during the recent economic turbulence Tom was the cool head guiding First West to calmer skies.
Victoria-born Tom, 53, graduated from UVic with a BA in economics and became a chartered accountant (CA) in 1987. Moving to Vancouver that year, he began public practice, but what he really craved...
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