Access Credit Union’s president and CEO is stepping down after 13 years in the role.
The financial institution has announced the impending retirement of Larry Davey.
Davey has been with Access CU since 2012, shepherding it through eight different mergers and helping to grow it into the largest credit union in Manitoba. When he started, the credit union had $1.5 billion in assets and branches across a relatively small region; today, they have over $13.5 billion in assets and branches and members stretching across southern Manitoba.
“We are tremendously grateful for Larry’s leadership and vision that has not just transformed Access Credit Union but also fundamentally altered the credit union system in Manitoba,” said board chair Curt Letkeman. “His passion for change, empowering staff to reach their full potential, and making our communities a priority has resulted in a credit union positioned for the benefit of all Manitobans.”
Davey shared that his decision to retire comes as the credit union is in a period of stability.
“I’ve talked about it with my wife for awhile, and now that the credit union has come through these mergers and we’re sort of getting back to normal business, I’m comfortable in passing the reins to somebody else.
“We’ve seen a tremendous transition from what the credit union looked like in 2012 to what it looks like now,” Davey observed. “But I know that the staff and the members are really going to see the benefits over the next few years.”
Access merged with Sanford and Community credit unions in 2013, Crosstown Civic in 2021, Noventis and Sunova in 2022, and then welcomed Carpathia, Casera, and Amaranth credit unions to the fold in 2023.
When he came to Access, mergers were a topic of discussion at credit unions across Canada as they sought to stay competitive.
“We could see the landscape across the country that this is what was happening, so when I joined Access we had a lot of discussion around what would be our advantage going forward,” Davey said. “Access was a very strong rural credit union. There was a significant amount of interest out of urban credit unions in getting together with us.”
Reflecting on all the mergers and technological advances he was part of in his tenure at the helm of Access, Davey credited the organization’s staff for making it all work.
“We’ve had a couple of hiccups along the way—certainly technology transition can be difficult, bringing staffs together can be difficult, bringing memberships together can be difficult. But, at the end of the day, our staff were working hard for it.”
He says he’s proud of Access CU’s staff for their willingness to embrace change, dig into new technologies, and tackle ongoing education opportunities. The business, in turn, was pleased to promote from within wherever possible, Davey noted.
“Being able to reward a number of our staff with promotions and moving up the ladder in the credit union really was satisfying to me, because in many smaller credit unions that’s something that wasn’t available to staff.”
Access has been named one of Manitoba’s top employers every year for the past decade by the organizers of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers program, something Davey credits to the workplace culture they strive to foster.
“We really tried to empower our staff as much as we could so that they were making decisions rather than running to someone for a decision,” he noted. “To me, people were much more engaged in their job because they were able to make those decisions.”
The hunt for Davey’s replacement will begin shortly, and he will remain on the job until August to ensure a smooth transition.
His advice for whoever steps into his shoes? Really get to know Access CU and its people.
“I think there’s often this drive to put your own mark on everything. And that often means changing,” he said. “But I think someone coming into this role should step back, see what the credit union has done, and really see where staff is going to take it.
“I told some of our staff I think we’re really handing the keys to a Porsche to somebody here, because it’s gotten through all of these difficult times and now is ready to take off.”
