Conexus name of new credit union after merger – Celine Philot remains as CEO

July 28, 2025, 12:16 pm
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On the heels of a positive member vote to merge Conexus, Cornerstone, and Synergy Credit Unions, an official name has been decided upon for the new credit union. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Conexus Credit Union will be Saskatchewan’s largest credit union with $15 billion in assets. Conexus will serve more than 200,000 members through 57 branches in 50 communities across the province, retaining 1,400 employees in the process.

Work on choosing a name and CEO began well before the member vote back in mid-June as the three boards met.

“One of the things that we determined at that point was that the name and the CEO had to come from one of the three existing credit unions,” Conexus Board Chair, Ken Kosolofski told the World-Spectator. “We started that process quite early, and then obviously couldn’t get into the detail until we had a positive merger vote. We started doing some of the preliminary work before that and we had independent consultants to help us, not only with brand recognition for the name, but also an executive recruitment firm to help us on the CEO side. Lots of work was done, and then once we got the vote, it really sped up. When we talked to you at the end of June, we were well into that process, and obviously today we’re making the announcement.”

As with any merger, questions of identity are bound to crop up, but Cornerstone Board Chair Heidi Schofer is confident the new Conexus Credit Union will continue to retain those unique voices at every branch.

“While each of our credit unions brought strong identities to the table, the decision to move forward as Conexus Credit Union signals a fresh chapter and was selected to reflect a provincial, member-focused organization that resonates across Saskatchewan and represents our ambition to serve communities province-wide with strength, stability and purpose,” she said.

Similarly, Synery Board Chair Neil Carruthers pointed to the confidence in the Conexus name, looking forward to the next chapter of growth.

“The name Conexus is recognized and respected across Saskatchewan, making it a powerful foundation for our new, unified credit union,” he said. “It reflects the trust we’ve built in our communities and gives us a strong platform to grow from—together, as one organization serving members throughout the province.”

In addition to the name of the new credit union, last week’s announcement confirmed who the first CEO will be.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to take on this significant task and that the board had confidence in me to lead through this,” said current Conexus CEO Celina Philpot when asked about her reaction to learning she will retain her title. “So very humbling, very appreciative and absolutely excited to take on the challenge. I know this is good for the members and for Saskatchewan, and I’m really excited to be part of this journey.

“I’ve been in the credit union system for a long time, so being able to engage in something of this significance, which I know is really important for our members and our employees, but also significant in the credit union movement in Saskatchewan, I’m just over the moon and completely humbled and so proud to have that confidence from the board for me to lead this organization moving forward.”
Philpot has gained the endorsements of her peers, who highlighted her abilities through glowing accolades.

“I fully support the boards’ decision to appoint Celina as the CEO of the new Conexus Credit Union,” said Trevor Beaton, CEO of Synergy Credit Union. “Her leadership reflects the values we all share, and I’m committed to supporting her and the organization as we move forward together into this exciting new chapter.”
Echoing those sentiments, Cornerstone Credit Union’s CEO Doug Jones also applauded the decision to name Philpot as CEO.

“The boards have made a strong and thoughtful decision in appointing Celina as CEO,” he said. “I fully support this choice and have every confidence in her ability to lead the new credit union. I look forward to working alongside her and contributing to ensure a successful transition for our members and teams.”

Lots of work until January 1
As for operations until the merger date, the credit unions will continue to operate as separate entities. In the interim, Philpot explained that integration planning will be ongoing.

“I’ll have the ability to work with my two peers at the other two credit unions, and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with them, just to make sure that we can ensure a very smooth transition, because we recognize there’s a lot of change for our employees,” she said. “I'll be spending quite a bit of time with my two peers at the other two credit unions, understanding what would be the best approach for us to establish that key integration of activities.”

The board also has a big job ahead of it as Kosolofski noted.

“We’ve got a new inaugural board that’s appointed, they won’t have any formal power until January 1, 2026, but they will meet from here on in to try and help Celina through the planning process,” he said. “From the board’s perspective, there’s some infrastructure that we need to create, and one is a new board chair and a new vice chair that we’ll be electing. We’ll probably set up some type of shadow committees, like an audit committee and a risk committee and governance and HR committee, and we’ll get on with doing some of the integration activities that we can do prior to January 1, 2026. There’s certain things that we can’t do—the Competition Bureau, who’s a federal organization which rules what we do—there’s certain market information that we can’t share, but there’s lots of stuff that we can do to prepare for January 1, 2026.”

So far, the journey to a merger has been a smooth one, thanks in large part to common ideology between the three credit unions.

“The values were the same, everybody had the same objectives, we work together as a true partnership,” Kosolofski said. “The journey has been good so far. Now the hard work starts in integrating, but I think generally, we’ve got a pretty good start on that.”

Back in June, members of all three credit unions voted on the question of whether or not to merge. After the 10-day voting period, 86.5 per cent of Cornerstone voting members, 87.5 per cent of Conexus voting members, and 88.7 per cent of Synergy voting members were in favour of the plan.