The boards of directors of Sun Life Financial Inc. and Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada on Friday announced their intention to appoint Ronald Osborne as non-executive chairman when William Stinson retires at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the two companies in Toronto on May 11.

Osborne’s appointment is pending his re-election as a director by shareholders and voting policyholders at the upcoming annual meeting.

He has been a member of the board since 1989 and is currently chairman of the audit and conduct review committee and a member of the management resources committee. Osborne serves on a number of boards of Canadian public companies and community organizations.

Stinson has been a director since 1985. He was appointed Sun Life Financial’s first non-executive chairman following the annual meeting in 2003 after serving as lead director for four years.

“The independent members of the board of directors were unanimous in their selection of Ron Osborne as my successor. I am confident that Ron will do an outstanding job in providing leadership to the Board,” said Stinson.

“I look forward to working with the board and Don Stewart as he and his strong management team continue to deliver value to our policyholders and other customers and excellent returns to our shareholders,” said Osborne.