Innovation expert named new Chief Digital and Payments Officer at Central 1
Arvind Sharma looks forward to creating exceptional customer value and experience
VANCOUVER, BC (August 30, 2018) — Central 1 Credit Union (Central 1) is pleased to announce the appointment of Arvind Sharma to the role of Chief Digital and Payments Officer, effective September 24, 2018.
With a career history of working within financial institutions as well as their service providers, and a specialization in design thinking and agile principles, Sharma brings significant experience from a range of financial institutions and technology providers, including Manulife, D+H, Vertex Data Sciences, and CIBC.
“Arvind has a deep understanding of designing and building fully integrated, end to end digital origination platforms, and leading financial institutions in adopting these for optimum customer experience,” said Mark Blucher, CEO, Central 1. “His experience in developing and implementing digital strategy and technology solutions positions him perfectly to support Central 1’s drive to create a competitive edge for our clients through design excellence, market-leading speed and innovation, and extensive stakeholder engagement and partnership.”
Sharma will lead Central 1’s Digital & Payments Services, delivering integrated solutions to credit unions, other financial institutions and businesses across Canada, creating a competitive edge for users through client-centred design, market-leading speed and innovation, and proactive stakeholder engagement and partnerships.
With more than 20 years’ experience across retail and institutional payments and technology, Sharma is known for his ability to drive top line and bottom line results, while identifying and balancing operations and technology with enterprise strategy.
Prior to his time in his most recent role as VP, IT Individual Insurance and Manulife Bank & Trust at Manulife Financial, Sharma has held the roles of VP Innovation and Customer Value at D+H; and was the VP Product and New Business Development at Marlborough Stirling, a subsidiary of Vertex Data Sciences. He holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario (Richard Ivey School of Business), and a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto.
“This is a great opportunity to build on the exceptional customer experience that credit unions and other clients provide to Canadians by creating leading edge solutions that help them thrive in a constantly and rapidly evolving industry,” said Sharma.
In addition to CEO Mark Blucher, Sharma joins Central 1’s executive leadership team of Richard Beed, SVP Human Resources; Brent Clode, Chief Investment Officer; Buffy Duke, SVP Client Development; David Finnie, Chief Risk Officer; and Marilyn Mauritz, Chief Transformation and Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary.
About Central 1 Credit Union
Central 1 cooperatively empowers credit unions and other financial institutions who deliver banking choice to Canadians. With assets of $10.9 billion as of September 30, 2023, Central 1 provides critical
services at scale to enable a thriving credit union system. We do this by collaborating with our clients, developing strategies, products, and services to support the financial well-being of their more than five million diverse customers in communities across Canada. For more information, visit www.central1.com.
