iA Financial Group announces changes to its Executive Committee

Highlights:

• Announcement of the retirement in 2023 of Jacques Potvin, Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary, and Lilia Sham, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Strategy and Development.
• Appointment of Éric Jobin as Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary.
• Appointment of Pierre Miron as Executive Vice-President and Chief Growth Officer Canadian Operations.
• Appointment of Mike Stickney as Executive Vice-President, Chief Growth Officer US Operations, Co-Head of Acquisitions.
• Appointment of Denis Berthiaume as Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Performance and Co-Head of Acquisitions.

iA Financial Group today announces changes to its Executive Committee.

First, two executives will leave iA for retirement in the coming months.

Jacques Potvin, Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary, will conclude his role as CFO and Chief Actuary with the disclosure of the Q2 financial results in August and will stay with iA Financial Group to assist in the transition and other strategic mandates until the end of the year.

“Jacques has been with iA for the last 33 years, occupying roles of increasing responsibility. In his various roles, he developed strong and authentic connections with his collaborators and had a positive, lasting effect on their professional development”, explained Denis Ricard. “I want to personally thank him for his vast contribution to our company’s success, and for the depth of his commitment to our ambitions.”

Lilia Sham, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Strategy and Development, will leave her current role as Head of Corporate Strategy and Development in September and will remain with iA as Executive Vice-President and Strategic Advisor for the coming months.

“Lilia has been a driving force behind our M&A ventures in Canada and in the US since 2019”, commented Mr. Ricard. “Under her guidance, we have improved our internal processes, broadened our network and grown in maturity to be better positioned towards our prospective markets.”

The following changes will come into effect on August 21:

Appointment of Éric Jobin
Following the retirement of Jacques Potvin, iA Financial Group announces the appointment of Éric Jobin to the role of Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary.

Already a member of the Executive Committee, Mr. Jobin has been with iA for more than 29 years and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and of the Society of Actuaries (FSA). He has occupied roles of increasing responsibility over the years, including in corporate actuarial services, group benefits and retirement solutions and most recently for operational efficiency. In his new role, Mr. Jobin will continue to be responsible for the efficiency function.

More executives dedicated to growth
Considering iA’s $1.8 billion capital available for deployment after the IFRS 17 transition, and the annual organic capital generation expected to be of about $600 million, acquisitions will be a strategic lever for iA’s growth in the coming years.

“We are making important changes to iA’s Executive Committee to align and direct our energies towards our strategic ambitions”, stated Denis Ricard, President and Chief Executive Officer. “These changes will come into effect over the coming weeks and months and create stronger synergies between our sectors and additional growth opportunities for our leaders and employees. We will be even stronger and more determined than ever to generate growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders”.

Pierre Miron, Executive Vice-President and Chief Transformation Officer, will become Executive Vice-President and Chief Growth Officer Canadian Operations. Mr. Miron has successfully led iA's ambitious transformation program over the past years and he brings a deep business understanding of the financial sector and his vast experience in the service of this new mandate. In this role, he will oversee all Canadian lines of business and continue to build the capacity of the Global CX function.

These changes will allow Mike Stickney to focus on iA's U.S. operations, which are important growth drivers for the future. Mr. Stickney will become Executive Vice-President, Chief Growth Officer US Operations, Co-Head of Acquisitions.

“The appointment of two chief growth officers reflects the increased focus we place on this function for the coming years and mirrors a similar focus on acquisitions” stated Denis Ricard. “By incorporating CX into this function, we restate its role as a business function and our expectations for it to generate client and revenue growth. We also expect it to be a catalyst and an accelerator for the growth of all lines of business.”

Appointment of Denis Berthiaume
iA Financial Group also announces the appointment of Denis Berthiaume as Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Performance and Co-Head of Acquisitions.

Mr. Berthiaume has more than 25 years' experience as an executive in the financial sector, in a wide range of specialties. He has been Head of life insurance and wealth lines of business. He has also led various corporate functions including IT, corporate actuarial, client experience, employee experience, risk management and commercial, property and casualty and retail banking.

Denis Berthiaume completed his actuarial studies at Laval University in 1985 and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

In his new role, Mr. Berthiaume will have two main areas of responsibility. The first is to consolidate our Strategy and Performance functions to maximise strategic and operational alignment. His second area of responsibility will focus on acquisitions, on which he will share the role of co-head with Mike Stickney.

The other members of the Executive Committee remain the same.