Meet our leaders
We have a strong, dedicated team of leaders comprised of an appointed chief executive officer and five vice presidents that oversee our areas of business.
Laura Nashman
Chief Executive Officer
Laura joined BC Pension Corporation as chief executive officer in December 2008.
BC Pension Corporation provides pension services for five of the largest pension plans in the Province with assets in excess of $130 billion. The Corporation services over 639,000 plan members, 1,000 participating employers and pays out more than $0.4 billion in benefits each month ($4.8 billion/year).
Under Laura’s leadership, Pension Corporation in 2020 received Canada Awards for Excellence® (CAE) Platinum certification in Excellence, Innovation and Wellness. This, after getting “Gold” recognition from Excellence Canada in 2016 and several times named one of BC’s Top Employers.
In 2018 Business in Vancouver magazine, Deloitte and TEC Canada recognized Laura as the public sector BC CEO of the Year and in 2017 Laura named one of the Influential Women in Business. She was called out as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and recognized on Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list. Laura also has the designation of Director with the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D), and serves on several boards including Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board, Excellence Canada, the Conference Board of Canada, Pension Pacific Institute and Canadian Sport Institute, Pacific.
Laura is an active mentor for women leaders and emerging leaders who look to her for guidance and direction on their leadership practice and career development.
Trevor Fedyna
Vice-President, Strategy and Insights and Chief Financial Officer
Trevor joined BC Pension Corporation in 2013 and is the chief financial officer and vice-president of Strategy and Insights.
Trevor has worked for several public and private organizations in areas that include finance, strategic planning, enterprise risk management, human resources, communications, business development, operations, stakeholder relations, information technology and facilities.
Before he joined BC Pension Corporation, Trevor served as CFO and vice-president, corporate services, for BC Safety Authority, now Technical Safety Authority. He led the organization’s strategic planning processes that helped the organization to establish a world-class operating model and financial sustainability. He also served as CFO of the False Creek Surgical Centre, one of the leading private health-care companies in Canada.
In his current position, Trevor plays a central role in the development and delivery of our strategic plan and propelling us to become an insights driven organization, while also providing financial stewardship.
Trevor is a Chartered Director and a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Joel Levinson
Vice-President, Member and Employer Experience
Joel joined BC Pension Corporation in March 2019 to lead the Member and Employer Experience Division which is responsible for the end-to-end service experience for the members and employers of the plans. The MEE Division works with >1,000 plan employers to manage pension data for plan members and collect remittances for investment by the pension plans. MEE also ensures the >600k plan members receive the optimal level of service including ensuring retired members receive >$4.5B/year in pension benefits. Joel also leads the corporation's digital transformation program.
Joel has a broad executive background in a variety of public and private sector industries with more than 25 years of technology and operations management experience and has a track record of leading high performing global organizations through complex business transformations. Over the course of his career he has managed hundreds of millions of dollars in large scale complex system integration and digital transformation initiatives in healthcare, financial services, supply chain management, customer service, and high tech manufacturing.
Before joining the corporation, he served as chief information officer with MAXIMUS Canada helping public sector clients transform their service delivery. In addition to his 13 years at MAXIMUS Canada, he held a number of IT and manufacturing operations leadership roles at Intel Corporation for 11 years. Joel holds a master of business administration and bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Arizona. Joel is also the Chair of the University of British Columbia Sauder School Business and Technology Advisory Board.
Aaron Walker-Duncan
Vice-President, Board and Communication Services
Aaron joined BC Pension Corporation in 2004 and is vice-president of Board and Communication Services.
Before joining the corporation he was a benefits consultant with Deloitte in the United Kingdom, where he advised clients on executive pension arrangements, acted as a professional trustee and managed pension issues associated with organizational insolvencies.
In his current role, he is responsible for delivering support and services to the pension boards of trustees.
Aaron has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Simon Fraser University and holds a Financial Planning Certification and a Certificate in Securities. He has his Institute of Corporate Directors designation, completed the Advanced Pension Education Program at Humber College and has a certificate in Advanced Trust Management Standards.
Brett Emmerton
Vice-President, Information and Technology Services and Chief Information Officer
Brett Emmerton joined the corporation as vice-president of the Information and Technology Services Division and Chief Information Officer in May 2020.
With over twenty years of international technology experience, Brett has worked in multiple industries inclusive of public sector, education, research, telecom, and technology. Brett has a depth of experience in digital transformation and cloud solutions and a respect for the relationship between business and technology, with technology the enabler for business outcomes.
Prior to joining Pension Corporation, Brett led global teams in organizations from private technology start-up companies to large, publicly traded organizations. He has led public sector digital transformation initiatives in both Federal and Provincial governments, and is an expert in program management, compliance and security, with specializations in innovation, cybersecurity and vendor management.
Karlena Lewis
General Counsel
Karlena joined BC Pension Corporation in 2019 as Senior Legal Counsel. She was named General Counsel in 2023 becoming part of the executive team.
Karlena has over 20 years’ experience providing legal advice and guidance to organizations.
Prior to joining Pension Corporation, Karlena was senior legal counsel for the Vancouver Island Health Authority. She has practiced securities and corporate law at full-service law firms in Calgary and Vancouver, before serving as Associate General Counsel of Newalta, an environmental services company in Calgary.
In her current role, she leads the Legal Services team to provide strategic legal advice and support to the corporation on all matters including pension administration, corporate compliance, and strategic initiatives. Karlena also serves as Privacy Officer for Pension Corporation. She strives to deliver practical guidance to enable the corporation to successfully achieve its strategic plan.
Erika Taylor
Vice-President, People and Culture
Erika joined the corporation in 2017 as Director, Employee Services. She was named Vice-President of People and Culture in April 2020.
With 20 years’ experience developing and delivering talent management solutions supporting high-performing workforces and workplaces, Erika is a true people leader. She has held several senior roles across the BC Public Service, leading business transformation, HR operations, corporate talent programs and employee communications. Erika holds a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Royal Roads University.
Erika delivered Pension Corporation’s first people strategy in 2018, and she is determined to continue to make the corporation a leader in its industry, as well as a workplace where staff can all contribute and thrive. She is also helping to lead the corporation’s cultural shift towards digital service delivery that will provide an outstanding employment experience and improved services to members.