James Berry

CEO, Great Western Credit Union

James Berry is CEO of Great Western Credit Union and has led the organisation since 2007, as well as having played a number of roles within the sector at a national level.

Great Western Credit Union (GWCU), formerly Bristol Credit Union, extended its membership area from the former Avon county into Gloucestershire, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in 2021 to build on its digital transformation which was initiated in late 2019 just before the Covid pandemic struck.

GWCU now has a modern IT ecosystem which delivers tangible member benefit and enables service 24/7 across the now very broad geography. GWCU has also been through a considerable cultural and operational shift, moving toward an empowered team working with a continuous improvement approach.

One of the first credit unions to secure significant external investment, GWCU is delivering high levels of growth in membership and social impact, with an ambitious plan to scale up significantly over the next 5 years.