CFO Kevin Strain Appointed as his
Successor
TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Bill Anderson,
Chairman of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF),
announced today that Sun Life President and Chief Executive
Officer, Dean Connor intends to
retire August 6, 2021.
Kevin Strain, currently Executive
Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, will be appointed as
President and a member of the Sun Life Board of Directors effective
February 15, 2021. He will assume the
Chief Executive Officer role upon Mr. Connor's retirement. Mr.
Connor will also retire from the Sun Life Board of Directors in
accordance with company policy.
"On behalf of the Sun Life Board of Directors, I would like to
thank Dean for his vision, leadership and passion throughout his
tenure," said Mr. Anderson. "In his 14 years at Sun Life and nearly
10 years as President and CEO, Dean retires after a distinguished
career where he transformed Sun Life to become one of the top
insurance and asset management companies in the world. He did this
by creating a sustainable Client-centric culture, fostering
collaboration and digital innovation and focusing our business with
a four-pillar strategy. Sun Life Clients have been able to achieve
lifetime financial security and live healthier lives under Dean's
leadership."
Sun Life grew its underlying earnings per share by 12% per
year1, delivered an annualized total shareholder return
of 19%2, and grew assets under management from
C$466 billion to C$1.2 trillion3, under Mr. Connor's
leadership.
As Sun Life CEO, Mr. Connor has received significant
recognition, including being named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2017
and Ivey Business School Leader of the Year in 2018. He is a leader
in numerous institutional and community organizations including the
Business Council of Canada, the
University Health Network and the United Way.
"We're thrilled to announce Kevin
Strain as Dean's successor," said Mr. Anderson. "Our Board
undertook a comprehensive process to ensure we found the best
possible successor to Dean. We are confident that Kevin's
background and career at Sun Life position him well to lead the
company into the future. In addition to his passion for digital
innovation and his unrelenting focus on the Client, he has a strong
track record of transforming businesses and being a successful
P&L leader and Finance executive."
"I have great confidence in Kevin," said Mr. Connor. "His
leadership skills, character and experience will continue to drive
Sun Life's growth and future success. I look forward to working
with Kevin and my colleagues across Sun Life to ensure a smooth and
seamless transition."
Mr. Strain joined Clarica in 1997, which was acquired by Sun
Life in 2002, and played an instrumental role in the integration.
He has held senior business and financial roles including the
leadership of the Individual Insurance and Investments business in
Canada where he successfully
navigated the global financial crisis. He launched Sun Life Global
Investments (now known as SLGI Asset Management) before assuming
leadership of Sun Life Asia in 2012, where he expanded into
Vietnam and Malaysia and built our distribution
capabilities in the region. Mr. Strain returned to Canada in 2017 where he assumed the role of
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer along with
responsibility for Corporate Development and Enterprise
Services.
"I'm honoured to be selected by the Board to lead Sun Life and
to work with such a talented team of leaders, employees, advisors
and partners to ensure we continue to innovate and grow," said Mr.
Strain. "I've worked closely with Dean throughout his tenure as CEO
and, like him, I'm committed every day to helping our Clients
achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. I'm
passionate about Sun Life and our priorities of focusing on
Clients, digital innovation, financial discipline, fostering a
diverse and inclusive culture and sustainability."
Mr. Strain will continue working with Mr. Connor and the Board
to name a new CFO in the first half of 2021. Until a new CFO is
appointed, Mr. Strain will retain the title and
responsibilities.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international
financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and
asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun
Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including
Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2020, Sun
Life had total assets under management of $1,186 billion. For more information, please
visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars
Sun Life Media Relations Contact:
Aishling Cullen
Vice-President
Corporate Communications
t. 416-979-6487
Aishling.Cullen@sunlife.com
Sun Life Investor Relations Contact:
Leigh Chalmers
Senior Vice-President
Head of Investor Relations & Capital Markets
t. 647-256-8201
Investor.relations@sunlife.com
_________________________
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1 Underlying earnings per share
compounded annual growth rate from 2012 (full year) to September
30, 2020 (trailing four quarters). Represents a non-IFRS
financial measure. See the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section in
our interim MD&A for the period ended September 30, 2020 ("Q3
2020 MD&A").
|
2 Annualized Total Shareholder Return
from December 1, 2011 to November 27, 2020.
|
3 AUM
data from December 31, 2011 and September 30, 2020,
respectively. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. See
the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section in our Q3 2020
MD&A.
|
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SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.