“As a credit union, we're part of the community, we live here. We breathe here. We know what’s happening, and we are also part of the economy. If our businesses thrive, we, as an economy, thrive. That’s an advantage of banking with a credit union.” 

Anika’s 20-year career in finance has taken her across the globe, but Alberta is home. 

Born in Pakistan, Anika lived in Zambia, the Caribbean, and South Africa growing up. Her dad worked for the UN as a statistician to help end poverty, and his job took the family around the world. Anika returned to Pakistan for her bachelors and masters degree, before moving to Alberta with her husband. “This is where home is,” she says. “We really like living in Alberta.”  

Anika is one of our Independent Business Advisors and been with connectFirst for five years. “As a business banking advisor, we help businesses grow. We try and fulfill their needs and provide them with the best possible advice. If we're not able to do something for a business, we provide them with creative solutions and options after digging deeper into what their need is,” she explains.

She’s passionate about making a difference in our communities through her work. “at connectFirst, we make sincere effort trying to make a difference. We know our members and we live in these communities, and we care,” she says. 

“As a credit union, we're part of the community, we live here. We breathe here. We know what’s happening, and we are also part of the economy. If our businesses thrive, we, as an economy, thrive. That’s an advantage of banking with a credit union.”

When Anika’s not helping Alberta businesses, she enjoys working out and restoring furniture. “During COVID, I think everybody picked up hobbies, just to get your mind off of things” she laughs. “I really enjoy getting old furniture from Marketplace and painting it and refurbishing it. I did that with my dining table and chairs.” 

Anika and her husband have three kids – a 14 year-old, 13 yea-old and nin year-old. Nothing makes her happier than being surrounded by her friends, family and community. You know it's it's home for us, yeah? “I’m a very social person. having people around me is where I get all my energy from, so working  from home takes a toll sometimes, but  being around friends, and family and like-minded people makes me really happy.”

It makes us happy that Anika is on our team! 

Barry helps members bring their business dreams to life, and watching members take pride in their businesses is the most rewarding part of Barry’s job.

“The best thing about the role is being able to go out and see a member’s place of business, getting toured around, and seeing the pride and joy of what they've managed to build up, and just sharing that with the Member,” he reflects. “It’s definitely the best part.”

Barry has been in finances for an incredible 20 plus years. connectFirst’s member focus is what drew him here.

“We want to see these people succeed,” he says.

“That’s why we want to form great partnership. When our members succeed, that means we're succeeding at the same time, so it's a win-win scenario.”

When he meets with members, he want to make them feel heard.

“It's the opposite of the mentality of going to a fast food restaurant, where people just walk up and tell you what they want, and you say you sure, and then you give it to him.”

“Versus, what I like to do is say, ‘well, tell me about your story and then, together, we can understand what the best solution would be’.”

When Barry isn’t helping members succeed, you can find him on his deck with a glass of red wine.

“I have a fairly good cellar of red wine,” he says.

I build on it a little bit every month or so. I belong to a couple of wine clubs and I love California reds.”

While making members’ dreams come true makes Barry happy at work, quality time with friends (with some wine of course) brings Barry joy outside of the office.

“Sharing a good bottle of wine with friends and sitting with a glass wine out on a deck in the sunshine makes me very happy,” he smiles.

Solutions, solutions, solutions! That’s what Edward brings to the businesses he advises at connectFirst.  

Born in Nigeria, before moving to the United Kingdom and then Alberta, Edward has been with connectFirst for two years. 

Edward helps Alberta businesses grow, and works with them to determine what their next steps are.  

He sees the businesses he works with as partners. They work together and he advocates for them and is determined to provide them with the solutions they need, even if he need to get creative. “We want to help them, and sometimes the answer isn’t as simple as saying “okay, you have a lot of money, so we can help you,”  he says.  

“Sometimes you have to get creative and that's the part connectFirst is really good at - working with the members and saying “okay, this might not work, but here's what we can do.” Nine times out of 10, we'll find a way to help you, even if it's not exactly what you came to us with.” 

Edward goes out of his way to build relationships with members and make them feel comfortable. Not only to build trust, but to provide him with a full picture of who his members are and to identify their needs. “I don’t want it to feel like you’re talking to a bank,” he says of meeting with his members.  

“I want them to feel very comfortable. I prefer it to be more relaxed, and to get to know them before jumping into business because when a business comes to us and asks for lending, we have to convince the credit manager to lend them money. It helps to be able to understand the member and put myself in the members’ shoes and say “this is why these guys should get the money.”  

It’s not all work, no play for Edward. When he’s not helping Alberta businesses, his biggest hobbies are investing and basketball. “I do like to research stocks by myself and hopefully grow it, and I do like playing basketball,” he says. His team is the Lakers, but he jokes that he’s only a bandwagon fan. One team he’s not a bandwagon fan of is soccer team, Manchester United.  

Edward is competitive outside of sports too. He says one of his greatest motivators is the feeling of “accomplishing something that I didn't think I would.”  “I always try to find new challenges. When I accomplish them, I give myself a pat in the back, he laughs. 

Ferdinand’s entrepreneurial spirit makes him the perfect fit as an independent business advisor! He runs three businesses of his own, which gives him a true understanding and insight into the entrepreneurs and visionaries he helps out at connectFirst. 

“I've been always dabbling with small businesses and own businesses as well, so it's almost like a perfect match,” he says.   

“I’ve always loved that independent, entrepreneur life and I love the credit union system. This is a way that I could put my two worlds together.” 

Ferdinand started as a Financial Experience Advisor at connectFirst, and worked in our mortgage department before joining our independent business team.  

He sees the relationships he has with his members as partnerships. “We are really in it for the long haul. We want to partner with you. You're not just a number - we want to get to know you personally, get to know your family personally. We want you to become part of the connectFirst family,” he says.

Ferdinand is tremendously ambitious, but his ambitions aren’t what you’d expect and are rooted in helping our members. “It’s not about becoming the next CEO. For me, it's about building relationships and helping members grow. 

When Ferdinand joined connectFirst, members from the financial institution he previously worked at came over with him – a true testament to his relationship-building skills.   

“That’s an accomplishment that means a lot to me – not just building a business relationship, but a lot of times, you build friendships that go way deeper than just being their banker. I think that's the biggest accomplishment for me. It's just like those lasting relationships,” he says. 

Outside of finance, one of Ferdinand’s greatest passions is fashion.  He owns a fashion business where he does wardrobe consulting, and he’s involved in real estate and the auto industry as well.  

His interest in fashion started in Italy. Ferdinand grew up in Germany, and would visit Italy often. When he was a kid, Ferdinand says there was a tailor in a small Italian village who would make suits. They didn’t speak each other’s languages, but he would sit there for hours watching him.  

“Just watch him sew clothing - that's where I really found the passion. I always thought it was amazing how you take a piece of cloth and you make it into these beautiful sculptures. That's what I like to call it. It's an art, right?” he says. 

His greatest inspiration in life was his grandmother. “She’s my biggest role model,” he says. 

“I became everything I am because of my grandma."

Small personal touches can make a big difference. No one knows this better than Jennifer. 

Jennifer recently met with a potential member looking to change banks. The potential member met with the big five banks and several credit unions, but Jennifer stood out. 

“She said I exceeded their expectations for member service and customer service because I'm the only one that had actually visited their warehouse and did a tour of the facilities,” she exclaims.  

“It surprised me that none of the other financial institutions she visited did that. A little touch like that makes all the difference.”

Building relationships with members brings Jenifer joy. It’s not uncommon for members to stop by her house for a visit. “People stop by my house quite regularly,” she says. “I have one member who’s now family. If he ever gets married, I'm invited. His children love me and come over to my house - that's just kind of the normal.”  

One of the best parts of Jennifer’s job is helping members achieve their goals.  

“The most rewarding part of my role is working with somebody from start to finish - getting them on the path to their dreams,” she says. 

“I started on the retail side of the credit union, and I worked with a member for a couple of years - just trying to get him to write his first home. That's the happiest part of the job for me.” 

One of the first things you notice about Jennifer when you meet her, aside from her warm, friendly personality, is her vivid pink hair.  

She dyed it “for fun” during the COVID-19 lockdowns. “It makes people smile,” she says. “And some people stare because it’s uncommon,” she laughs. 

Jennifer grew up in Winnipeg and moved to Alberta eight years ago. She’s been with connectFirst for six years. Her career started in retail, but she moved into finance because she’s always had a passion for numbers.  

When Jennifer’s not working, you can find her baking. She’s known for her delicious sugar cookies. “I spent a lot of time baking - Christmas is a big time for me,” she says.  

She also has three pets who keep her busy. “I have a 14 year-old Miniature Pinscher. Her name is Pedzi, and she's an absolute sweetheart - she sleeps all day - and I have two tuxedo cats, Kiss and Lemmy. They were named after rock music bands,” she says. 

Victoria helps bring Alberta business owners’ dreams to life.

She has almost twenty years of credit union experience, and building relationships with members is at the core of everything she does.

“When I meet with members, it’s about building a relationship. It’s not transactional,” she says.

“I want to make members feel like I truly care, like they matter, that I’m here for them.”

Victoria makes members feel like they belong. So much so, that when she joined connectFirst last year, members from her previous financial institution followed her here.

She exemplifies the credit union difference and is passionate about supporting our local communities.

When she’s not helping members and supporting her community in Medicine Hat, you can find her golfing or cooking. You may even be lucky enough to try her famed homemade perogies – she’s been know to share them with members sometimes 😉