Vancity

Wellington Holbrook , President & CEO

Accessibility leadership

Wellington Holbrook is the President and CEO of Vancity Group – which includes Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, and Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), Vancity’s federally chartered bank.

With a 30-year career in Canada’s financial services industry, Wellington has focused his career on cooperatives and banking institutions with missions that extend beyond profits.

Prior to becoming CEO of Vancity Group, Wellington held progressively senior roles at financial institutions across Canada. At connectFirst Credit Union, Wellington served as Chief Operating Officer before taking on the role of CEO, leading the credit union through mergers and the integration of several credit unions under a new brand. At ATB Financial, he led their retail, business and agriculture banking lines of business and, as Chief Transformation and Technology Officer, he led an ambitious digital, business and cultural transformation at the largest Alberta-based financial institution. Serving as the Senior Vice-President of Operations at the Business Development Bank of Canada, Wellington played a pivotal role in leading and shaping the bank’s business across Western Canada.

Our Organization

Who we are

Vancity is a BC-based, values-driven credit union with a vision of “a transformed economy that protects the earth and guarantees equity for all.”

We strive to redefine wealth in ways that enhance the financial, social, and environmental well-being of our 560,000+ member-owners and their communities.

As Canada’s largest community credit union, we lead with our values and use our assets to drive positive change, sharing 30% of net profits with members and local communities through programs like Shared Success.

Why we are involved

It’s the right thing to do – and it makes good business sense. Vancity has seen firsthand the positive effects of hiring individuals with diverse abilities.

Building an accessible, inclusive workplace isn’t just a social responsibility; it fuels innovation, improves employee engagement, and enhances member service.

In short, embracing accessibility and inclusion aligns with our values and strengthens our organization’s performance.

Distinction and Awards

• 2026: Canada’s Top 100 Employers – Recognized among Canada’s best workplaces for 2026.
• 2025: BC’s Top Employers – Named one of BC’s most progressive employers for the third year in a row.
• 2025: Canada’s Top 100 Employers – Featured on Mediacorp’s national Top 100 list (announced Fall 2024).
• 2025: Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers – Honoured (for the 3rd consecutive year) for outstanding support to employees balancing work and family.
• 2025: Top Employers for Canadians Over 40 – Recognized for inclusive practices supporting mid- to late-career employees.
• 2024: Canada’s Top 100 Employers – Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 workplaces for a second consecutive year.
• 2020: Forbes #1 Bank in Canada – Ranked Forbes’ top Canadian financial institution for customer satisfaction and trust.
• 2019: BC’s Top Employers – Selected as one of BC’s best workplaces.
• 2019: Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers – Recognized for progressive benefits supporting families.
• 2019: Canada’s Best Diversity Employers – Acknowledged for leadership in inclusive hiring and workplace diversity.
• 2019: Canada’s Greenest Employers – Honoured for environmental sustainability in our operations.
• 2019: Canada’s Top 100 Employers – Named among Canada’s top employers.
• 2018: Canada’s Top 100 Employers – National workplace excellence award.
• 2016: UnTapped Award – Large Business Champion – Winner of BC’s UnTapped workplace inclusion award for supporting people with disabilities.
• 2015: Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations – Recognized for our social and community impact.

Accessibility Initiatives

• Leadership Commitment: Our CEO, Wellington Holbrook, joined the Presidents Group – BC’s ministerial advisory committee on inclusive employment – in 2025, underscoring Vancity’s top-level commitment to accessible workplaces. By having representation on this 25-member advisory of change-driven business leaders, we help champion accessibility province-wide.
• Dedicated DEI Team: Vancity has a dedicated Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Reconciliation (DEIR) team embedded in the Office of the CEO. This team includes specialists focused on disability inclusion and employee wellness. In 2024, we elevated the entire DEIR function (including our Workplace Inclusion team) to report directly to the CEO, ensuring visibility and accountability for advancing accessibility and inclusion at the highest levels.
• Workplace Inclusion (WIN) Program: Our Workplace Inclusion pilot project, launched in 2016, “job carved” tasks from other roles to create new opportunities for neurodivergent individuals. This successful program is now permanent – today self-identified neurodiverse employees hold administrative roles across Vancity (with several earning promotions into other positions). The WIN program continues to grow and was redesigned in 2025 to further improve support and career development for employees with disabilities.
• Inclusive Hiring Practices: We continuously refine our recruitment and hiring to remove barriers. Vancity obtained a BC Human Rights exemption to run specialized “BC Talent” hiring programs, enabling us to proactively recruit Indigenous, Black, and transgender candidates into open positions. We also began leveraging AI tools in our hiring process to reduce bias and save time, and we partner with agencies (like Focus Professional Services) to engage IT contractors on the autism spectrum.
• Employment Partnerships: We maintain partnerships with numerous government and non-profit agencies to support employees with disabilities. Through these partnerships, our staff and managers receive coaching, assistive technology training, and toolkits on inclusive employment practices. We also collaborate with disability service organizations to create a robust support network (for example, PosAbilities provides on-site job coaches for our WIN hires).
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): Vancity has an active Persons with Disabilities ERG that provides a voice to employees with disabilities and informs leadership on priorities and improvements. This ERG, along with five others (covering Women’s Equity, 2SLGBTQIA+, Racial Equity, Mental Health, and Indigenous employees), helps drive internal culture change and ensures continuous feedback on accessibility initiatives.
• Accessibility Committee: We established an internal Accessibility Committee in 2024. This cross-functional team identifies barriers, advocates for accessibility standards, and guides implementation of our accessibility projects.
• Pledge to Measure: We are an active participant in the “Pledge to Measure” program – an initiative helping employers benchmark disability inclusion. By taking the Pledge, Vancity has committed to measure our inclusion efforts, track progress, and transparently share results to drive continual improvement. This data-driven approach gives us a competitive edge in building a truly inclusive workplace.
• Employee Supports & Wellbeing: Our Human Resources framework includes roles focused on disability management and mental health (e.g. a Disability & Wellness Consultant and a Wellbeing Consultant). We offer a centralized Disability Resource Centre on our intranet for employees and managers to access information on accommodations, assistive tools, and best practices. We’ve also implemented a confidential accommodation request system and provide ergonomic assessments and adaptive technology to any staff who need them.
• Internal Education & Engagement: Through regular training and communications, we encourage an internal culture of inclusion. We run company-wide learning sessions on topics like Universal Design – ensuring products, services, and workplaces are usable by everyone, from the start of the design process. We also launched an internal newsletter (“The DEIR Download”) and Yammer communities that frequently highlight accessibility themes and success stories, helping normalize discussions about disability and ability.
• Community and Advocacy: Vancity actively collaborates beyond our walls to promote accessible employment. We share our lessons learned with other employers – for instance, we plan to offer guidance to several credit unions interested in replicating our WIN program (in true co-operative spirit). We also engage in public policy dialogues and industry groups, advocating for more inclusive hiring practices and improved accessibility standards in the financial sector.

Accessibility Highlights

• Encouraging Ability Over Disability: Vancity has shifted internal culture to emphasize employees’ abilities and encourage self-disclosure in a supportive way. By fostering an environment of trust, more employees feel safe to request accommodations or share their needs, which helps us ensure everyone can perform at their best. We celebrate diverse talents and focus on what each person can do, rather than limitations.
• Innovative Hiring & Recruitment: We continually evolve our hiring practices to reach candidates with disabilities and other underrepresented groups. This fresh approach – from targeted recruitment campaigns to simplified application processes – helps us attract top talent who bring new perspectives. Our use of inclusive hiring tools and special programs has positioned Vancity as a model for equitable recruitment, inspiring other employers to follow suit.
• Enhanced Accessibility for Members: Vancity goes beyond compliance in making our services accessible.
  • For example, we developed braille print materials for our Annual General Meetings (including agendas and speeches) to ensure visually impaired members can fully participate.
  • We have upgraded ATMs and digital platforms to meet high accessibility standards (moving toward WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across our online services).
  • We also offer accommodations like sign language interpreters at member events, and we invite feedback from members with disabilities to keep improving accessibility in our branches and call centers.

Vancity’s vision is to be “more than just banking” – and a big part of that is living up to our promise of equity and inclusion. By leading in accessible employment practices, we hope to inspire other organizations to create workplaces where everyone can participate and succeed. We remain committed to sharing what we learn, listening to feedback, and boldly advancing accessibility for our employees, our members, and our communities. Together, we’re building an inclusive future – one where banking (and employment) is truly for everyone.

Related Resources

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Unconscious Bias Training for All Staff

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