Andrew Eberl

Board Chair

Born and raised on a mixed farm near Claresholm, Andrew and his family are proud to oversee the welfare of the largest Braunvieh cattle herd in Canada. A passionate credit union member for 39 years, Andrew credits the longevity and success of his family business from the support of his local credit union.

Andrew’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree (with distinction) in Agriculture from the University of Alberta and numerous industry and credit union certifications.

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife and adult daughters, working on the farm or hiking, and biking in K-Country.

Michel Cantin

1st Vice Chair

Michel is a Business Development Manager for Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services. With over 15-years of experience in the pension and employee benefits fields, Michel has provided human resource solutions for a diverse group of clients in the private, public, not-for-profit and government sectors.

Michel’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science from Université Laval. His passion for credit unions began at a young age when his parents helped him open his first account, and blossomed through his involvement as a young man at Caisse Desjardins de Sillery in Quebec City.

Carey Taubert

2nd Vice Chair

Carey has a Chartered Accountant designation and operates an accounting practice out of her home, specializing in agriculture tax issues. Carey and her family operate a grain farm north of Hussar.

Carey received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and articled with Arthur Anderson. She’s had a long-term relationship with Cremers & Elliott of Calgary, serving their retail auto and agricultural sectors.

In her spare time, Carey enjoys spending time with her teenage children, as well as curling, camping, being a hockey/ringette mom, and visiting with friends.

Matthew Becker

Matthew is the Canadian Compliance Director for Mistras Group Inc (NYSE:MG), providing strategic direction involving safety and environment, quality assurance, HR, system integration and government compliance. He also owns and operates a successful real estate development company for residential, agricultural, and commercial properties.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Associate License from the Real Estate Council of Alberta.

Matt lives in the Mountain view region with his family and enjoys playing hockey and golf.

Anne Johnson

Anne is a small business owner and entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in both the publishing and agricultural industries. Through this experience, she brings a keen understanding of business development and entrepreneurship to the boardroom. She understands that being flexible and keeping pace with change in any industry, while retaining the bedrocks of good customer service and community involvement, are key to growing and maintaining a businesses.

As a community leader, Anne has seven years of volunteer board experience, six of which is in Executive roles, including four as President and Chair. Anne believes in clear communication, strong planning, and positive collaborations that benefit all parties involved.

Robert Petryk

Bob is the Managing Director of Petwin Capital Group, a multi-million-dollar investment trust doing business in Canada and the United States.

Bob has Commerce and Law degrees from the University of Calgary and an MBA from University of Western Ontario. He’s also participated in several credit union director-training courses. The University of Calgary Board of Governors and Senate, and an advisory board for the City of Calgary, have afforded Bob further board experience. Bob also currently serves on Alberta Central’s Board of Directors.

Bob and his wife enjoy spare time with their young family.

"I’m passionate about cooperatives and have honoured to have the opportunity to contribute to the credit union’s exciting future. I like to bank where I belong — which is why I’ve been a member of connectFirst (or a predecessor) for over 40 years," says Paul.

Paul worked at Credit Union Central Alberta (“Central”) for over 18 years (1996-2013), most recently as Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development. Central is the statutory liquidity manager and industry association for the Alberta credit union system, and also provides payments, technology and other back-office services. 

"I am proud of the tremendous growth and success of Alberta credit unions, and also proud to have personally been part of it in my past career," he says.

Paul currently work as Vice-President, University Advancement at Mount Royal University, where he's led the alumni relations, fundraising, government relations, marketing and communications functions since 2017. He also has Master of Management Studies and Bachelor of Commerce degrees, and an ICD.D designation.   

Past board experiences for Paul include service on the Mount Royal University Board of Governors, CUSource, Credit Union Payment Services, Coop EFT Development Association, Coop Network Services Committee, and Credit Union Organizational Support. 

Cindy Skrukwa

Cindy is founder and president of Strategy House, an Alberta-based strategy consultancy that helps organizations develop and implement transformative, customer-focused, competitive strategies. Her financial services consulting experience ranges from working with global Fortune 500 financial institutions to smaller, local credit unions. Joining Connect First’s board arose from Cindy’s keen interest in the financial sector and a desire to help everyday Canadians achieve greater financial success, as did the writing of “She Laughed all The Way to the Bank,” a book she wrote to share financial learning stories among Canadian women.

Along the way, Cindy has earned an MBA from the Ivey School of Business where she graduated as Gold Medalist, a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction from the University of Alberta, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) with distinction from the Alberta University of the Arts. She also recently completed the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.

Cindy enjoys painting, running, volunteering on the Organizing Committee of Child Haven International’s annual fundraising dinner, and spending time with family (particularly her teenage son and their wonder dog – Milo).

Karim Teja

Karim is the co-founder of RTB LLP, a firm providing executive-level financial, operational, strategic and regulatory consulting services to some of the fastest growing companies in Alberta. In 2006, Karim was also one of the winners of the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his work in rapidly commercializing and globally distributing a new health-tech product.

Karim has been a member of the First Calgary division for over 20 years and is an ardent supporter of the credit union system and cooperative organizations in general.

Karim has been married to his wife for 30 years and have 3 children who he is very proud of. He also has a 6 year old Labradoodle, named Moglee who makes him smile every day.

Charlie Van Arnam

Charlie brings a wealth of governance experience, including 22 total years on the Mountain View Credit Union Board, 14 of which as Chair. Charlie has extensive Board experience at the local, provincial and national level, and has served as an elected municipal official. He was a Councilor for Mountain View County from October 2001 to August 2004. He also served on the Egg Producers Board, both on a provincial and national level. Charlie’s background is in farming, and he owned and operated an egg laying operation for over 20 years.