Sun Life’s Connor to Replace CEO Stewart When He Retires

July 04, 2011, 4:38 PM EDT By Kevin Bell and Sean B. Pasternak

(Updates with closing shares.)

July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Sun Life Financial Inc. said Chief Executive Officer Donald Stewart will retire on Nov. 30 after 13 years leading Canada’s third-biggest insurer.

Sun Life named Chief Operating Officer Dean Connor as his successor, taking up the role effective Dec. 1, the Toronto- based company said today in a release.

Stewart, 64, began his career at Sun Life’s London office in 1969. He left the insurer in 1974 to pursue a career in benefits consulting, and then returned in 1980. Born in Scotland, Stewart oversaw Sun Life’s demutualization that was completed in March 2000 and expanded the company’s operations in Canada, the U.S. and Asia.

Sun Life shares have more than doubled since they began trading at C$14 a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March 2000. Shares of Manulife Financial Corp., the country’s largest insurer, have risen about 63 percent over that same period.

Connor, 54, joined Sun Life in 2006 from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, and has since held several leadership positions at the insurer. He will work closely with Stewart until his retirement, the company said.

“Every leader brings something different in style and approach,” Connor said today in a telephone interview. “People will see a difference -- and similarities -- and those will appear over time.”

MFS Management

Sun Life will continue to focus on operations in North America and Asia, as well as asset-management businesses such as Boston-based MFS Investment Management, which created the first U.S. mutual fund in the 1920s.

“We see great opportunities for Sun Life to grow that part of the business,” said Connor, who holds an Honours in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

James Sutcliffe, a director of Sun Life, will become chairman on Dec. 1, replacing Ronald Osborne, who is also retiring after six years as chairman.

Sun Life rose 18 cents to C$29.23 at 4 p.m. in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kevin Bell at Kbell2@bloomberg.net; Sean B. Pasternak at spasternak@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net

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