Elected directors and Young Intern Director Program

You can express your desire to become a caisse director at any time. Speak to a board member, the general manager or an employee to find out what you need to do.

To become a director, you must meet eligibility requirements and be able to contribute to the Board of Director’s enhanced group profile. This profile consists of a set of criteria to ensure that, overall, caisse directors represent members and have the range of skills required to fulfil their duties.

To become a director, you must apply during the application period, which starts during the 3rd week of January each year. Directors are elected by members at the annual general meeting. The number of elected directors varies from caisse to caisse.

Are you a caisse member between the ages of 18 and 30? Do you want to represent the members of your community and help your caisse succeed while gaining professional experience and achievements for your resume?

What is the program all about?

• Sit on a board of directors as an observer.
• Promote the socio-economic development of the community.
• Have an influence on the decisions of a financial cooperative.
• Contribute to the development of a strategic and business plan and oversee implementation.
• Access to a training program on financial institution management.
• Get initiated to analyzing ethical issues.
• Get on-the-job training on being an elected director of a board of directors.
• Get introduced to a network of professionals.

What is the role of a Young Intern Director?

Actively participate in caisse decisions.

Uphold the mission and cooperative values of Desjardins.

See to the caisse's strategic performance and risk management.

Maintain relationships with caisse members and the community.

The board of directors is made up of up to 15 members elected by members during the annual general meeting in April. In addition to attending board meetings, the board members also work in committees to address certain specific issues.

The board of directors reviews, controls and decides on the caisse’s affairs according to Desjardins values and what’s best for current and future members of the caisse and of Desjardins Group. The board takes the necessary steps to understand members’ needs and make sure they are satisfied. It ensures the caisse contributes to responsible and sustainable development in the community and is managed in a sound and prudent manner according to regulations in order to protect the caisse’s long-term sustainability.

The Board of Directors has the following duties:

• Cooperation and community involvement
  It ensures that Desjardins’s mission, values and distinctive nature are reflected in the caisse’s practices and activities, including promoting member education, contributing to community development in partnership with other caisses and organizations and participating in collaborative activities.
• Member needs and satisfaction
  Because the board represents caisse members, it must pay special attention to ensuring that current and future members are satisfied. It must consult members and involve them in decisions relating to caisse priorities and base its decisions on what is best for members, while promoting the caisse’s long-term sustainability and Desjardins Group’s priorities.
• Strategic management and performance
  To ensure the caisse’s growth and long-term sustainability, the board determines the caisse’s direction and strategic priorities and approves and monitors the business plan and budget.
• Integrated risk management and compliance
  The board ensures that the caisse is managed in a sound and prudent manner, in compliance with risk management and compliance frameworks.
• Overseeing general management and employees
  The board appoints the general manager, evaluates their performance and ensures that regulations and HR management programs are strictly followed. It also ensures that the incentive plan promotes Desjardins behaviours.
• Governance and professional conduct
  The board assesses its own performance, adopts a skills development plan for its directors, reviews the mandates for its committees, ensures that the enhanced group profile is updated and on target and reports on its activities at the general meeting. It also oversees compliance with the Desjardins Code of Professional Conduct and other governance guidelines and frameworks.

All members wishing to apply for a director position must, to hold the position, meet legal eligibility requirements.

In addition, a provision in the Desjardins Code of Professional Conduct states that members who work in the field of financial services or insurance, for example, may not be accepted for reasons of incompatibility due to their activities or work with a competitor.

Lastly, in keeping with Autorité des marchés financiers and Desjardins policies, all applicants must also authorize the caisse to perform security and credit checks to confirm their eligibility for the caisse director position.