Vancouver-based Central 1 Credit Union, the credit union (CU) central for British Columbia and Ontario financial co-operatives, named Mark Blucher as its president and CEO on Thursday. Blucher begins the role on Jan. 22, 2018.

Blucher takes over the position held previously by Don Wright, who left Central 1 in July to join the B.C. government as deputy minister of the executive council, cabinet secretary and head of the public service of B.C. Marilyn Mauritz, Central 1’s senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, currently serves as interim president and CEO.

Blucher, a financial services and insurance industry veteran, joins Central 1 after serving most recently as CEO of the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia. Previously to that, he held senior positions with Australian financial services firm Suncorp Group, including more than three years as group executive for Suncorp retail bank, the fifth largest bank in Australia.

“With our focus on adapting swiftly and effectively to meet our members’ and clients’ needs in a volatile financial services environment, Mark’s capacity for leading change will be a great asset in driving transformation at Central 1,” says Rick Hoevenaars, chairman of Central 1, in a statement.

Central 1, which has offices in Vancouver, Mississauga, Ont. and Toronto, is the primary liquidity manager, payments provider and trade association for 42 member CUs in B.C. and 70 Ontario member CUs. It also provides wholesale financial products, trust services, payment processing and direct banking services to about 300 CUs and institutional clients across Canada. It holds approximately $17.7 billion in assets.