Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) announced on Tuesday that upon completion of Manulife’s acquisition of the Canadian operations of Standard Life plc, Charles Guay, president and CEO of Standard Life, will become president and CEO, Manulife Quebec, and executive vice president, institutional markets, Manulife Canada.
In the newly created role of head of Manulife Quebec, Guay will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to significantly increase Manulife’s presence, visibility and impact in Quebec. Standard Life’s sizeable presence in Quebec was one of the key motivating factors in Manulife’s decision to make the acquisition.
As executive vice president, institutional markets, Guay will lead the group benefits, group savings and affinity markets businesses within the company’s Canadian division. Guay succeeds Rick Brunet, executive vice president, who will focus solely on leading the integration of Standard Life Canada.
“Charles is well known in the industry from his great work at Standard Life,” said Marianne Harrison, senior executive vice president and general manager with Manulife’s Canadian division. “Our customers and distribution partners will benefit from his experience in the institutional business, and he will provide proven leadership to our team.”
Guay has been president and CEO of Standard Life Canada since January 2012. Before joining Standard Life, he held several executive positions with National Bank of Canada, including president and CEO of National Bank Securities.
Different strokes: Charles Guay
Guay, 42, holds a bachelor degree in business administration from Université Laval (1994) and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.
Manulife announced in September that it had reached a deal to acquire Standard Life’s Canadian operations for $4 billion. The deal was cleared by the Competition Bureau in mid-November, and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.