Sun Life Financial Inc. announced that RickMcKenney has assumed the position of executive vp and CFO effective today.

McKenney, who joined Sun Life in September 2006, succeeds Paul Derksen, who last spring announced his intention to retire in early 2007.

“Paul has made a tremendous contribution during his seven years at Sun Life, and it has been a real pleasure to work with him,” said Donald Stewart, CEO. “He played a key role in Sun Life’s conversion from a policyholder-owned company with an initial market capitalization of $5 billion to a public company with a worth today approaching $30 billion.”

In commenting on his retirement, Derksen said, “I have enjoyed my time at Sun Life very much indeed. It is a wonderful organization with a great management team, and I wish everyone all the best.”

Prior to joining Sun Life, McKenney, 38, was senior vp and CRO of Genworth Financial Inc., a U.S. publicly traded insurance company which had been part of GE Financial Assurance until Genworth’s public offering in 2004.

Reporting to Stewart, McKenney leads the company’s enterprise-wide financial, actuarial, risk management, asset and liability management, capital management, taxation, planning, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations functions.

“Rick has hit the ground running and has already made his presence felt in many positive ways,” noted Stewart. “The transition from Paul to Rick has gone extremely well, and the addition of an individual of Rick’s high calibre to our senior executive team has us well positioned going forward.”