Former Sun Life Financial Inc. CEO Dean Connor has been appointed to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investments board for a three-year term as a director, said a Department of Finance release.
Connor’s retirement from Sun Life Financial, first announced in December 2020, is effective today. Connor had led Sun Life Financial since December 2011 and, as previously announced, Kevin Strain, president and director at Sun Life, will succeed Connor.
Connor joined Sun Life in 2006 holding a series of executive roles, including head of Sun Life’s Canadian Operations and COO. Prior to joining Sun Life, he worked at Mercer Human Resource Consulting, where he became president for the Americas.
Connor serves on the board of the Business Council of Canada, as a trustee for the University Health Network in Toronto, and as a member of the Ivey Advisory Board and the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council. He’s also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
Also on Thursday, the release announced the appointment of Barry Perry, the former president and CEO of Fortis Inc., to a three-year term as a director for the CPP Investments board. Directors Tahira Hassan, Chuck Magro and Sylvia Chrominska were reappointed for additional three-year terms.
“The experience and expertise of the board will help it carry out the important work of building a diversified portfolio of assets that helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the Canada Pension Plan,” said deputy prime minister and minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in the release.
Directors of CPP Investments are selected by the federal government in consultation with the participating provincial governments. CPP Investments managed $497.2 billion as of March 31.