Alberta's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 66
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ALBERTA’S TOP EMPLOYERS
UFA Co-operative promotes growing together
R
eece Brown feels like
he’s come full circle.
The financial analyst at
UFA Co-operative
Limited, a Calgarybased co-operative which
supports agricultural producers,
commercial customers and related
rural businesses in Western
Canada, remembers seeing UFA
billboards on the highway when
his family moved to rural Alberta
when he was 12. “We used to get
our cat food there.”
Brown graduated from the
University of Calgary’s Haskayne
School of Business with a
double major in accounting
and economics. “It’s interesting
that someone like me, who was
raised in a rural community, is
now working in an organization
that’s giving back to that same
community,” he says.
It’s interesting that
someone like me, who
was raised in a rural
community, is now working in an organization
that’s giving back to that
same community.
— Reece Brown
Financial Analyst
He is currently part of one
of UFA’s newer initiatives, the
Finance New Grad Rotational
Program, which offers recent
graduates a 36-month rotation
through three or four different
finance roles with a permanent
job for successful participants at
Employees at UFA Co-operative develop a variety of practical skills through hands-on customer service at the
organization’s farm and ranch supply stores.
the end.
“Our program allows new grads
to get diverse experience to help
them discover what they really
like,” says president and CEO
Fred Thun. “It’s a huge jump
from going to university to the
real world, where everything is
not in a textbook and where your
decisions have real consequences.
Some of our participants don’t
make the full 36 months in the
program because they find a role
in the company they want to stay
in — let’s call it early graduation.”
Initially, a big draw for Brown
was that UFA is an approved
training office of the Chartered
Professional Accountants (CPA)
Association, which means his
work experience will expedite
the CPA certification process.
However, after 18 months at the
organization, he’s found a lot more
to like.
“I had worked at a few different
companies before and did some
co-op programs but had rarely
interacted with leadership. At
UFA, I met Fred Thun, who was
the chief financial officer at the
time, and other high-profile
people, and we’ve had full
conversations. Not only do they
offer advice, they genuinely show
interest in my career and support
my progress.
“Because they’re focused on
the macro when I share an idea,
I feel like my voice is heard at the
decision-making table,” says
Brown.
