TJ Schmaltz

TJ is currently the Chief People & Legal Officer for Prospera, one of Canada’s largest credit unions. In this role, TJ has executive oversight for Prospera’s employee experience, communications, governance, corporate support and legal affairs. 

TJ started his career as a labour and employment lawyer, but transitioned into the human resources and people experience field, where he has worked in progressively more senior roles since the early 2000s. Prior to joining the credit union in June 2017, TJ was chief human resources officer for a large rapidly growing multi-national organization of more than 10,000 employees located in nearly 200 cities across North America. This experience included significant merger, acquisition, and integration work.  His previous experience proves that working in HR can be industry agnostic, having played senior leadership roles in such diverse organizations as a large municipality, a major retailer and working with maximum security jails. 

A passionate advocate for people-focused human resource management, TJ has been a part-time instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology where he has been teaching law and HR management courses since 2005. In 2020, TJ co-published one of the pre-eminent textbooks on employment law for business and HR professionals in Canada.  

TJ is the past chair of the board for the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada and also serves as a board member with Ocean Wise, a global ocean conservation organization as well as the BC Credit Union Pension and Benefits Trust. He has previously served as the Chair of the Board for the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, BC & Yukon. 

He is designated as a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) as well as a Senior Certified Professional (SCP) with the US Society for Human Resource Management. TJ holds a Bachelor of Common Law (LLB) and a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa. In 2018, TJ was granted the honorary title of Fellow Chartered Professional in Human Resources (FCPHR) by CPHR Canada.