As a result of its growing presence in Ontario, Desjardins Group today announced the creation of a new position of senior vp, Ontario Executive Division. The group operates close to 100 caisses and credit unions in the province.

Alain-Michel Sékula, currently vp, national business development at Desjardins, will fill the position, which will include the duties of the current senior vp, Caisses populaires de l’Ontario. He will assume his new duties in Ottawa as of March 1.

Sékula’s role will be twofold. His main duty will consist in ensuring the continuity of service quality offered to the Ontario caisses populaires, while also providing support to Desjardins Credit Union. Sékula’s responsibilities and those of the new Ontario Executive Division will also extend to providing local services to the Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario as well as to Ontario credit unions with which Desjardins hopes to sign agreements and implement its technology solutions.

“The appointment of Mr. Sékula is a major step forward for Desjardins towards achieving its Canadian business development goals, especially with respect to Ontario, and further support will be provided by the establishment of dedicated teams created specifically to provide local services to assist financial cooperatives in that province,” said Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec president and chief operating officer, Bertrand Laferrière. “This is a unique opportunity for Desjardins to develop specialized expertise in Ontario to support financial services cooperatives and, as a result, to make its partnership offer more attractive to the credit unions. The new Executive Division teams will operate in Ottawa, Sudbury and the Greater Toronto area. This kind of critical mass demonstrates our desire to sustain Franco-Ontarian expertise in this sector and to encourage future generations to continue our work.”

Sékula has an MBA from the University of Ottawa and holds the title of Certified Management Consultant from the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. With 25 years of experience as a manager in the financial services, franchising and economic development sectors, he has worked within Desjardins Group for 15 years, primarily at Desjardins Financial Security. He was a key figure in setting up the new bancassurance environment. Sékula lives in Ottawa. He is actively involved in the community and a member of the Board of Directors of the Montfort Hospital.