Vancity CEO to head up InBC board
The B.C. government has chosen Christine Bergeron, the head of Vancouver-based credit union Vancity, to chair the board of its new $500-million strategic investment corporation. Bergeron, who has been with the credit union for about a decade but who only officially took on the top job at the start of this year, will head InBC Investment's nine-person board.
“I am pleased to be appointed to this position. We have a vitally important job to do in building a climate-resilient and prosperous B.C. as we recover from the pandemic,” said Bergeron in a statement to The Logic; she was not available for an interview. She said she looked forward to working with the board “to emerge stronger out of the recovery, create jobs and address issues such as climate change.”
The other eight board members B.C.'s NDP government appointed Thursday offer a blend of private-sector, public-sector and non-profit experience. They include Ingrid Leong, chief investment officer of the philanthropic Houssain Foundation; Suzanne Trottier, vice-president of Indigenous trust services at First Nations Bank Trust; Iglika Ivanova, a senior economist at the B.C. office of left-leaning think-tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; Kevin Campbell, managing director of investment banking at Haywood Securities; and Glen Lougheed, described in a release as a serial tech entrepreneur and angel investor. Lougheed most recently co-founded Applied Post, where he serves as CEO. Rounding out the board are the province's Deputy Innovation Minister Bobbi Plecas and Deputy Finance Minister Heather Wood, as well as former B.C. finance minister and deputy premier Carole James.
Bergeron joined Vancity in 2011 as an investment manager, working her way up to interim and then permanent CEO. She also serves as a board member at Avios Wealth and represents North America on the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative's Banking Board. Before Vancity, she worked within the clean tech, sustainability and impact-investing sectors, co-founding Shoreline West Asset Management and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital.
Innovation Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a statement that he was “excited” about the incoming board members. “Each person contributes expertise, years of experience and credibility to this bold new strategic investment fund,” he said.
The board members will offer strategic guidance, accountability and oversight for the new investment agency. They will report to the finance and innovation ministers, and will oversee hiring senior executives, including a CEO and chief investment officer, this spring and summer. Asked what criteria she'll consider when hiring for these two positions, Bergeron said it would be a discussion for the full board. Kahlon said he believes the person selected to lead investments will reflect the corporation's values. “I suspect that the applicants that want to be involved in this want to make a change in society.” It seems the search won't be limited to the province. “We're expecting applications from different parts of the world for this role.” The fund will not be in a position to start making investments until the end of this financial year.
Neither the government nor the board is supposed to influence InBC's investment decisions, though its investments are expected to be in line with the government's priorities. While its investment criteria have yet to be published, the government has offered some insights into the fund's approach. It “will make an impact by investing on a triple bottom line basis,” according to its website. It boils that down to considering profits (a return on investment), people (ensuring equal opportunities) and the planet (protecting the environment). Its investments will look for financial returns, and also focus on environmental, economic and social impact. They will align with what the government has called its five foundational principles to inform recovery efforts, including fighting climate change and meaningful reconciliation.
The government announced the creation of the new investment agency in September 2020, an overhaul of the existing BC Immigrant Investment Fund (BCIIF) and unveiled as part of its COVID-19 economic recovery plan. Kahlon introduced legislation on April 27 to incorporate it. While the concept of public dollars being invested directly into the province's tech startups isn't new, InBC represents a change in strategy the government hopes will be more in line with a post-pandemic world.
Until 2014, BCIIF had offered loans to groups that report to the government, mostly post-secondary institutions, and made both direct investments in B.C. tech companies and venture capital funds.
The new corporation's mandate is to invest in local small- and medium-sized firms that could turn into high-growth companies in an effort to grow and anchor “talent, intellectual property, innovation, investment and jobs” in B.C., according to InBC's service plan.