Bernard Vallee

Asset-based Lending Portfolio Manager

Wells Fargo Canada

Montreal, Canada

Full speed ahead

Bernard Vallee may, quite possibly, have one of the most interesting jobs in the world of finance. Bernard oversees the financing and managing of the portfolio of recreational vehicles, or – as he calls them – “toys for adults”. Canada’s vast open spaces and coastlines are perfect for this type of business.

In fact, Bernard spends a lot of time on the road, traveling about 650km every other week between Montreal and Mississauga (southwest of Montreal), where part of his team is located.

“I like having face-to-face contact both with my team and with dealers. Relationships are at the heart of what I do,” says Bernard.

Steady career progression

Bernard can look back on 19 years of steady career progression with increasing managerial responsibilities.

Fresh from Laval university in Quebec, he started at GE as an assistant account manager back in 1999, then worked as a commercial representative for a few years and moved up to work on credit financing in transportation, construction, manufacturing, fleet, and mining. In 2014 he joined the Commercial Distribution Finance business reaching the post of credit director and later became manager of the Marine team and more recently the recreational vehicle team.

In 2016, following Wells Fargo’s acquisition of GE’s financial business in Canada, Bernard became a Wells Fargo team member.

He recalls his efforts in reshaping the way in which things are done in his current role as his biggest work achievement. “Floor plan financing, where we provide loans to dealers to purchase inventory, is a niche financial business, which is growing. When I stepped into the role, back in 2014, I brought in a fresh approach, which focussed more on the cash flow analysis. Moreover, my commercial background helped me understand the critical aspect of the relationships we maintain with our dealers.”

Keeping an open mind

To be successful at Wells Fargo, in Bernard’s words, one needs to listen to people, be able to convey one’s vision, and understand customer requirements. “More importantly, we have a strong credit culture at Wells Fargo and it’s critical to clearly communicate our risk appetite, take the right decisions for our customers and the company in a highly regulated environment. If you want to progress, you also need to be open for new challenges and changes that will take you out of your comfort zone.”

This open mindset is also made possible by the diverse workforce at Wells Fargo Canada, where team members are a true reflection of Canada’s multicultural society and are a testament to the constant efforts of the bank to attract the best talent irrespective of their background.

Great team full of energy

Even after 19 years, Bernard is still impressed by the amazing level of energy in team members and the variety of work. “At Wells Fargo, every day is different and the challenges in the job require you to constantly look at things from different angles. This is also what makes it fun to come to work.”

Bernard is confident that Wells Fargo is the place to start a career in finance: “This is one of the largest banks in the world, but in Canada its operations are still being built out and as a result there is a lot of scope for development. We are good at what we do and we are also starting to see the benefit of all the investments in people and technology. So, in Canada, it’s full speed ahead for Wells Fargo!”