Executive Leadership Team

Ian Thomas - President and Chief Executive Officer

Ian is a values-led and people-centric executive with a proven track record of driving solid financial results, setting strategy, developing empowered teams and delivering a differentiated client experience. He has over twenty years of experience as a senior leader, with deep knowledge in areas of strategy development, risk management, retail and business banking, wealth management, and commercial lending.

A champion of the Canadian credit union system, Ian is a Board member of the Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC) and previously served as CEO of Kindred Credit Union in Ontario. Prior to that, he held several executive roles during his ten years at Coast Capital Savings including as Chief Risk Officer, Vice-President Retail and Wealth, and Chief Member Experience Officer, in addition to his extensive risk advisory experience at Deloitte.

Ian holds an MBA (Honours) from the University of Calgary and a BA in Communications and Business from Simon Fraser University. In addition, he holds an Institute of Corporate Directors Designation (ICD.D), and a Diploma of Strategy and Innovation from MIT. 

Armita Alikhani – Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer 

Armita has strategic and operational oversight of brand stewardship, research, strategic planning, products and partnerships, employee and corporate communications, community impact, and ESG strategy. She is focused on driving BlueShore’s core purpose of passionately improving our clients’ financial well-being in an interconnected digital world, and on promoting BlueShore’s exceptional client experience and deep financial expertise. Armita works with the CEO to lead strategy development and oversees the success of enterprise wide projects.

Armita has over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries including financial services and technology. Throughout her career, she has led numerous strategic marketing and corporate initiatives for organizations such as Aviso Wealth, Microsoft Canada, Avaya, and FINCAD, in house and on the agency front.

She holds a BA in Communications and Political Science from Simon Fraser University, and is completing her MBA from the Edinburgh Business School. Armita is deeply committed to community giving and has contributed to a number of organizations serving as a Board member for Dress for Success Vancouver and the SFU Alumni Association.

Ezekiel Chhoa – Chief Risk Officer

Ezekiel oversees enterprise-wide strategic management of risk. As a member of ELT, he works with his peers to set the overall strategic tone while leading an independent, stand-alone risk management function.

Ezekiel has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining BlueShore, he held a variety of senior roles at HSBC Bank. In 2008, he moved to Geneva to lead a global cybersecurity team for HSBC Private Bank. Ezekiel returned to Canada in 2010 to roll out an enterprise risk management program, and later was instrumental in implementing a vast financial crime and regulatory compliance change program for HSBC Bank Canada. His expertise was called upon to provide feedback to OSFI as the regulator was contemplating financial crime best practices, and he has worked on a number of OSFI regulatory exams. In addition to OSFI, his career has led him to work with a number of regulators including FINMA in Switzerland, the OCC and DOJ in the US, and most recently the BCFSA in Canada. Ezekiel believes in the good of social impact and has served on the Boards of community organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and a Master’s degree from the University of Manchester.

Fred Cook - Chief Information Officer

With more than 20 years of senior management experience, Fred provides strategic direction to the Information Technology Solutions, Corporate Business Solutions, and Facilities departments. He leads the planning, design and implementation of technology solutions and standards, helping to position BlueShore Financial as a credible innovator in the financial services marketplace. Fred also oversees the development and evolution of BlueShore Financial’s innovative Financial Spa^® branch design concept. The integration of technology, administrative processes and facility design concepts ensures BlueShore Financial’s signature client experience.

Fred is Board Chair of The Exchange Network, and has served on the Hewlett Packard Canada Executive Advisory Board. Fred has also been a blog contributor for Bank Systems and Technology and served on their Readers Advisory Board. He was recently appointed by the Central 1 Board to serve on the C1 Technology Committee and currently leads the Temenos-Microsoft Global Peer Group. Fred and BlueShore’s Technology Department have been recognized for their innovative work in a number of enterprise business software applications.

Lori Howe - Interim Chief Human Resources Advisor

With more than 20 years of Human Resources experience across diverse industries, Lori oversees the strategic planning and execution of all facets of HR at BlueShore including culture, recruitment, talent management, employee relations, compensation, benefits, rewards, learning and leadership development. 

She is responsible for ensuring a highly competent, engaged and productive workforce to maximize the employee experience and achieve corporate goals. Lori is an advocate for people analytics, continuous improvement and positive transformational change. 

Along with her BA in Sociology (Queens University), Lori holds the designation of Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), Compensation Management Specialist and Compensation and Strategic HR Management Certifications (IFEBS), and is graduate of the BlueShore Financial/UBC Sauder School of Business Executive Leadership Development Program. 

Derek Lee – Interim Chief Financial Officer

Derek is responsible for leading and managing financial strategy, initiatives and activities across the organization. Derek is a seasoned finance and treasury professional with over twenty-four years of experience in increasingly senior roles in the financial services industry, in both Canada and internationally. Derek is passionate about building, inspiring and empowering strong and effective teams that add value throughout the organization.

Derek’s career has included previous roles at HSBC, Credit Suisse and Price Waterhouse, spanning such areas as asset and liability management, capital planning and issuance, recovery and resolution planning, secured funding programs, regulatory and rating agency relationships, taxation, strategy, financial planning, derivative products support, treasury financial control, mergers and acquisitions, audit and business advisory and accounting.

Derek is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Saskatchewan.