Central 1 has announced the appointment of Barclay Hancock as Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately following the planned retirement of President & CEO Sheila Vokey on September 4, 2026. Vokey has led the organization since early 2023, when she succeeded Mark Blucher. The appointment is intended to ensure leadership continuity and the continued execution of Central 1's strategic priorities.

"Following a thorough review of our leadership needs during this transition period, the Board is confident that Barclay is the right person to lead Central 1 as Interim President & CEO," said Shawn Neumann, Chair of Central 1's Board of Directors and Chair of the CEO Selection Committee. "His leadership experience, collaborative approach, and commitment to Central 1's strategic priorities, clients, and employees make him the right leader to guide the organization to continue delivering on commitments and advancing key initiatives."

Hancock currently serves as Central 1's Chief Payments Officer and brings more than 25 years of experience in the Canadian and international financial services industry. Since joining Central 1, he has played a key role in advancing the organization's payments business, with a particular focus on deepening client relationships, delivering against Canada's payments modernization agenda — including the Real-Time Rail — for Central 1 and its clients, growing the client base, and strengthening the long-term payments roadmap. His elevation to the interim role places a payments executive at the head of the organization while that agenda remains in delivery: Payments Canada's modernization program has already delivered the ISO 20022-based Lynx high-value system, which replaced the Large Value Transfer System in 2021, while the launch date for the Real-Time Rail — designed to enable 24/7 instant payments — remains unconfirmed following repeated delays.

Central 1 is the wholesale financial services provider and trade association for the credit union systems of Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. In addition to payments, it provides liquidity management, digital banking, and other wholesale services to credit unions and other financial institution clients, and it advocates on their behalf on policy matters affecting the sector.

The search for a permanent President & CEO continues. Central 1's Board of Directors and CEO Selection Committee remain committed to a comprehensive recruitment process designed to identify the best candidate from a diverse and highly qualified field. Until a permanent appointment is made, Hancock will lead the organization as the initiatives already underway — including its payments commitments — continue.

Source: GlobalFinTechSeries