Sun Life Financial U.S. makes key appointments, strengthens its leadership team following the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits

WELLESLEY, Mass., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life Financial U.S. announces several key appointments that bolster the leadership team for its group benefits business. The announcement follows Sun Life Financial's successful close of the Assurant Employee Benefits acquisition, making Sun Life Financial U.S. the sixth-largest group benefits business in the United States.1

Top executives from Assurant Employee Benefits who are joining Sun Life Financial U.S. in a leadership capacity include:

  • Stacia Almquist, Vice President, Dental & Vision, who has led Assurant Employee Benefits' successful and growing Dental and Vision business since 2009 and previously held leadership roles in finance;
  • Dianna Duvall, Vice President, Group Underwriting, who recently led Risk Operations and Contracts for Assurant Employee Benefits and also held a variety of management positions, including key underwriting roles;
  • Matt Gilligan, President, Disability RMS, who is responsible for the overall management of this dedicated business unit and has held several leadership positions in his 35-year industry career;
  • Joi Tillman, Vice President, Voluntary, who has been responsible for developing and growing Assurant Employee Benefits' Voluntary business since 2013 and previously served in key HR, Risk, and Customer Advocacy roles;
  • Marc Warrington, Head of Field Sales, who recently served as President of Assurant Employee Benefits, which included directly managing Distribution, and who has extensive experience in sales leadership; and 
  • Miles Yakre , Vice President, Integration, who has served as Assurant Employee Benefits Chief Financial Officer since 2008 and in a variety of actuarial and finance leadership roles during his 24-year tenure there.

In their new roles, Stacia Almquist and Matt Gilligan will serve on the Sun Life Financial U.S. Senior Leadership Team reporting to President Dan Fishbein , along with Sun Life's existing team of senior leaders; Dianna Duvall and Joi Tillman will report to Scott Beliveau , Senior Vice President, Group and Voluntary Insurance; Marc Warrington will report to Kevin Krzeminski , Senior Vice President, U.S. Distribution; and Miles Yakre will report to David Healy , Senior Vice President, Client & Technology Services. These new positions are effective immediately, and the executives will continue to serve from their current locations – Assurant Employee Benefits' main office in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Disability RMS office in South Portland, Maine.

"We are pleased to have these key leaders complementing our existing management team, which creates a depth of talent that I believe is unrivaled in the industry," said Dan Fishbein, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. "The expertise and continuity that they bring will greatly benefit the Assurant Employee Benefits employees and customers transitioning to Sun Life as well as all the customers we will serve together with our expanded portfolio of products and services."

For more information on the Sun Life Financial U.S. Senior Leadership Team, visit www.sunlife.com/usseniorleadership .

For more information on the acquisition, visit http://www.sunlife.com/aebacquisition . 

1 The acquiring entity is Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, a subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. As a result of the transaction, Sun Life Financial's U.S. group benefits business is the sixth-largest group benefits carrier (excluding group healthcare) in the U.S. based on pro forma combined revenue from an internal analysis of publicly available information.

About Sun Life Financial 
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial 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. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary and Worksite, and Stop-Loss insurance. This includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contact:

Amanda Gallo
Sun Life Financial
781-446-1264
amanda.gallo@sunlife.com

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SOURCE Sun Life Financial U.S.