Speakers
Jim Dinning
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Western Financial Group
Website: www.westernfinancialgroup.caConference theme:
ROUND TABLE: Cooperatives and mutuals, a distinctive and effective business model – An alternative to the prevailing business model
Biography
Jim Dinning is a graduate of Queen's University with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Public Administration. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Calgary in 2002.
Dinning's career spans both government and business. Following graduation, he worked in Alberta's public service, rising to become the government's youngest deputy minister in Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs in 1984.
First elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly in 1986, Dinning was re-elected twice thereafter. During his 11 years in office, he served in a number of cabinet portfolios, notably as minister of education and provincial treasurer.
Dinning retired from elected life in 1997 and began his business career as a senior executive with TransAlta until 2004. Today, he is chair of Western Financial Group, Liquor Stores NA Ltd and Export Development Canada. As well, Dinning serves as director of a number of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. He was previously the volunteer chairman of the Calgary Health Region and is currently chairman of the Canada West Foundation. In June of 2010, Jim was elected the twelfth chancellor of the University of Calgary.
Jim Dinning calls himself a very lucky man because of his marriage to Evelyn Main. He's a proud father of 4 'interesting' children, especially as they bring reality to his belief that “we want our kids to be good but bad enough to be interesting.” He's known to dote on his 2 young grandchildren, especially as they too live in Calgary.
About Western Financial Group
Western Financial Group is a western Canada-based, diversified, financial services company serving more than 600,000 customers. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in High River, Alberta, Western Financial Group provides insurance, banking and investment products and services through more than 120 office locations. With a skilled team of approximately 1,500 employees, and backed by the strong resources of its owners, Western Financial Group is committed to building the strongest financial services company in western Canada. Western is one of only a small number of Canadian-owned organizations operating in the banking, life and property and casualty insurance sectors. These combined operations provide our Company with a unique and powerful platform on which to expand sales to new customers in the West and develop business momentum on cross sales to existing customers.
Western Financial Group is a subsidiary of Desjardins Financial Group (“Desjardins Group”), the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and the sixth largest in the world offering complete banking services to nearly 6 million members and clients.
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