Andre Sochaniwsky - Candidate for the Board (2014)

Nominee running for one of two (2) at-large positions:

Mr. Andre Sochaniwsky has been a member of the UCU for over twenty-five years and was first elected to the board in 2009.  He is the current Chair of the Board and also chairs the Executive and Governance Committees. Prior to that, he was the Board Vice-Chair and Chair of the Budget and the Donations, Sponsorship, Scholarships and Marketing and Budget Committees. He brings with him over fifteen years of business technology management experience, including a significant system delivery and governance capability. He also has a successful operational leadership track record as a former commissioned officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Currently, Mr. Sochaniwsky holds the position of Director, Finance and Supply Fulfillment Systems Delivery at a leading Canadian telecommunications company, where he has worked since May 2008. He is responsible for the successful planning and delivery of the company’s multi-million dollar finance and supply fulfillment system work program, which has included the company’s system migration to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) Harmonized Sales Tax, post-merger integration of large corporate acquisitions and other essential and transformational programs.

For ten years, prior to his current employment, Mr. Sochaniwsky was a management consultant, specializing in systems integration for large manufacturing companies. While in that position, he had the opportunity to work with numerous Fortune 500 companies throughout North America, contributing to the success of their system implementations.

Andre also served as an Air Combat Systems Officer in the RCAF for 13 years.  He commanded a maritime patrol air crew tasked with ocean surveillance and reconnaissance and the detection and tracking of nuclear submarines and accumulated 2200 hours of flight time. He was awarded with three military medals for service to Canada, including one for air patrol operations in the Adriatic Sea during the Yugoslavian conflict.

In addition to his UCU Limited Board work, Mr. Sochaniwsky serves on the Remembrance Committee of the Toronto Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC). He is also an active parent volunteer of the St. Sofia Byzantine Catholic School Council. He is a member of the Ukrainian National Federation (UNF), the Ukrainian War Veterans Organization and Plast and parishioner of St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.  Professionally, he is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Mr. Sochaniwsky received his Bachelor of Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada and his Master of Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at Western University. He has completed the Canadian Securities Course and the Project Management Certificate program from the University of Toronto. He also holds the PMP (Project Management Professional) designation and has successfully completed the CUDA (Credit Union Director Accreditation) Level B training.