Profile: Bill Dinsdale, Assiniboine Credit Union

Bill Dinsdale

Senior Commercial Account Manager – Not for Profit Specialist, Assiniboine Credit Union

Career:

Start in the credit union system: 2004

After eight years as a golf professional, Bill began his career in banking. He started as a member service representative for three months, then slowly worked his way up into other roles in the branch. An opportunity to move into a commercial trainee role opened up, which he jumped at. After four years of doing strictly commercial lending, he was able to join the Community Financial Centre at Assiniboine Credit Union, which was created to assist non-profits, start-ups, co-ops, and social enterprises. This is where he has spent the last 11 years of his career.

A typical day:

On a typical day, Bill may meet with a non-profit housing organization that is looking to build a new apartment block. A big part of his role is to provide advice to members. They will have a goal, but may not know how to best structure the lending to meet that goal, which is where Bill comes in. Bill says every day is different, and you may have a plan for your day, but a member issue may cause that to change. They may need troubleshooting or want a quick chat to update Bill on a key staffing change in their organization. Bill loves the variety and the ability to assist ACU’s members with finding solutions.

Continuous learning and improvement:

In Bill’s opinion, it starts with attitude. He says he will never be done learning in his role. Secondly, he looks for mentors within his company and soaks up as much information as possible from them. He says he has been lucky to have several great mentors over the years.

Keys to success:

Bill says his key to success is a willingness to stretch out of his comfort zone and learn new things.

Recommended reading for young leaders:

Bill recommends the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. While it was first published in 1936, he says the key takeaways are still as relevant as they were then. Three that stand out to him are:

  • Listen

  • Sincerely make the other person feel important

  • Show genuine interest in others

Guiding principles:

Bill’s guiding principles are:

  • Member focused: Members are the reason the credit union exists. Bill is always working towards win-win solutions for members.

  • Accountability: Be accountable to your employer and your members as well.

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