MOYA FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION LIMITED - Key Persons


Barbara Udovic

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Associate Director at the Bank of Nova Scotia
Barbara is an Associate Director at The Bank of Nova Scotia. Barbara represents the Front Office's business needs as it relates to regulatory matters. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (BCom) and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). Barbara served as a Board member of Krek Slovenian Credit Union, where she held the position of Chair (2014 to 2015). She led discussions with the provincial regulator (DICO), the Board of Directors and our membership relating to the amalgamation between Krek Slovenian Credit Union and Slovenian Parishes Credit Union. Since the creation of Moya Financial Credit Union in January 2016, Barbara has held various roles on the Board (Chair - 2016 to 2017; Vice-Chair - 2017 to 2021; Corporate Secretary - 2021 to 2022; Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee - 2022 to Current). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Christian and Connor. Our Board is comprised of 71.4% people who are he/him and 28.6% people who are she/her.

Jason Gorel

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • CFO of Covalon Technologies Ltd
Jason is the CFO of Covalon Technologies Ltd. Previously, he was the CFO of Groupe Brivia, Senior Director of Finance at Smart Centres REIT and CFO/Treasurer at Toronto Community Housing Corporation. Jason is the Chair of the GH&R committee and is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee. Previously, he served on the Board of Krek Slovenian Credit Union from 2011-15. He holds dual Slovenian and Canadian citizenship, was born in Canada, and lives in Etobicoke (near Browns Line). He received a medal from the Queen for Board participation on the Hearing Foundation of Canada. Jason holds a membership with Slovenski Dom and is currently on the Board of Directors with Dom Lipa and the Canadian Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. He holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation (CPA, CA), a Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA), a Certified Public Accountant designation (CPA Illinois) and completed his Corporate Director Education designation at Rotman School of Business (ICD.D).

John Sustersic

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Member Relations Committee Chair
  • Vice Chair Governance & Human Resources Committee Chair, Nominating & Member Community Relations Committee
John was a Board member of Krek Slovenian Credit Union, where he was Vice Chair (2008 to 2010) and was on the Strategic Planning, Human Resources, Budget, IT, Website Review, and Credit committees. He grew up in Hamilton and was part of the Slovenian community and his family business. He has over 20 years of management experience in the service and financial services industry. He has worked in Slovenia, the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada. He also brings additional Board experience gained through his work with Tourism Barrie. He holds a BA and an MBA and is currently a Professor of Marketing at Niagara College, with a focus on e-commerce, digital marketing, and social media. He has lived in Slovenia, speaks the language, and understands the culture, heritage, and legacy. He hopes to bring his experience in marketing and digital skills to help the credit union to continue to grow.

Margaret Zalar

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
Margaret is a lawyer who has served as a director on the Krek board for 17 years and the Moya Financial board for five years. She practiced at top law and accounting firms and the Ontario Law Society. Her legal experience is in real estate, mortgages, estates, and estate administration. She investigated lawyers for misconduct, including mortgage fraud and theft of mortgage and estate funds. She is fluent in the Slovenian language and believes in preserving her Slovenian heritage by working for the continued success of Moya Financial. Her experience has prepared her well for the issues arising during Board meetings.

Mark Zizek

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
Mark brings over 40 years of professional experience, including financial reporting, account management, and sales administration. He served as a director on the Krek Slovenian Credit Union Board for 24 years and continued onto the Moya Financial Board for the last six years. In 2020/21, he served as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and is currently Chair of the Board. Mark previously held the Treasurer role for the Slovenian Linden Foundation (Dom Lipa) for 13 years. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, as well as coaching youth hockey - he has volunteered with Applewood Hockey Association since 1995.

Matt Paznar

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Science )
  • Vice President, Professional Engineer and Senior Project Manager With Burnside
Matt is a Vice President, Professional Engineer and Senior Project Manager with Burnside, an engineering consulting firm. He manages design and construction of over $200 million in projects annually. He has extensive experience managing finances, people, marketing, and business development. His family have been members of the SCU since it was founded; his uncle was the first chair of the Board. Matt has been a member for 25+ years. He was a previous junior director of SCU for four years and completed Level A CUDA® director accreditation. Matt volunteers at his church and mentors young students from the Slovenian community interested in engineering and environmental careers. Matt likes to hike, build things (carpentry), restore old vehicles with his Ata, catch up with friends at the Slovenian Summer Camp, listen to polka, and more. Our credit union has helped his family for generations. Matt wants to ensure we continue growing, engage our youth, and implement the technologies required to remain relevant so that the credit union is around for future generations.

Peter Levstik

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of Audit & Risk Committee
  • Econ. & Accounting ), FLMI, CFE ( Term Expires 2026 ) Chair, Audit & Risk Committee
Peter brings an educational background that includes an Honours degree in economics and accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University in addition to the FLMI insurance/ financial services industry designation and the Certified Fraud Examiner designation. His prior work experience includes a junior accountant role at Bateman MacKay Chartered Accountants while attending university. Since 2015 he has worked at one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, Munich Re, overseeing all aspects of life and health insurance claims and providing expertise on financial claims matters. In his role as an Account Manager, his claim interventions directly save Munich Re and its clients millions of dollars per year. Peter is a graduate of Slovenska Sola at Brown's Line and loves playing in the summer sports tournaments at Slovensko Letovisce. He hopes to continue the family tradition of serving on the Board of Moya Financial and helping promote growth through the next generation of Moya members.