Barbara Stymiest was elected to the board of directors of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) at the company’s annual meeting held Thursday.

Stymiest is chairwoman of Research in Motion Ltd. and currently serves as a director of George Weston Limited, the University Health Network, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the Royal Ontario Museum.

From 2004 to June 2011, Stymiest served as a member of the group executive at Royal Bank of Canada. She has held a number of senior positions in the financial services industry including CEO, TSX Group Inc., executive vice president and CFO, BMO Nesbitt Burns, and partner, financial services group, Ernst & Young LLP.

Stymiest has been involved with a number of professional and charitable organizations including the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the United Way Campaign cabinet, and Hincks-Dellcrest Children’s Centre.

Stymiest is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and received an Award of Outstanding Merit from that organization in 2011. She holds an Honours Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business, as well as honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario, University of New Brunswick and University of Guelph.