Ben brings broad experience from a variety of executive and governance roles. He is currently President and CEO Alberta Central, the central bank and trade association for Alberta’s credit unions. He is also Vice Chair on the board of the Prairie Payments Joint Venture (PPJV), a technology and payments company, and Vice Chair on the board of Celero Solutions, a digital banking and information technology company. Previously, Ben was the President and CEO of the Balancing Pool, a major crown corporation in Alberta’s electricity sector, and he sat on the board of an Alberta credit union.

Ben has a Bachelor of Commerce in finance and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Calgary, and he holds an Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Janet Brown has been examining and tracking public opinion in Alberta for more than 25 years. Throughout her career, Janet has managed research assignments for all levels of government and numerous private sector organizations. She has extensive experience in both quantitative and qualitative research, having designed and managed hundreds of custom research projects.

Janet’s current practice focuses on helping clients better understand key audiences and stakeholder groups they are trying to influence. This could include customers, potential customers, employees, association members, voters, or the general public.

Janet is often invited to speak about political and social trends. She is a regular commentator on the CBC Calgary News at Six, Alberta Primetime on CTV2 in Alberta, and The Weekend Morning News on Global News Calgary. She also continues to be active in the academic community and has delivered guest lectures at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, and Concordia University in Montreal.

Janet Brown has a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. She also undertook graduate studies in Political Science at York University in Toronto, and studied International Development and International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England.

Matea Maric is the Director, Government Relations & Innovation at Alberta Central, and is responsible for coordinating the Alberta credit union system’s provincial and federal policy and advocacy work. Matea joined Alberta Central in March 2020.

Prior to joining Central, Matea worked for a Crown Corporation in the provincially regulated pension sector, as a manager of several public sector pension plan boards and committees. Raised in Alberta, Matea holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Business Law & Economics from the University of Alberta. Matea is dedicated to representing the interests of Alberta credit unions with government, and connecting credit unions to strategic system partners to enhance the competitiveness of the sector.

Kate joined Alberta Central in 2013 and is the current Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, where she is she is responsible for external-facing services for credit unions including regulatory compliance, risk management, government relations and research. She joined the system because she believes in the credit union governance model and the value proposition that comes from everyone collaborating and solving problems together.

With previous experience that includes working in federal politics, for the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and within the credit union systems in British Columbia and Ontario, Kate’s background gives her the ability to view issues from multiple perspectives and to represent the interests of Alberta credit unions with government, system partners and other centrals.

Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Queen’s University and a Master of Public Policy and Public Administration from Ryerson University. She also holds her Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation and a Masters Certificate in Risk Management and Business Performance from York University.