Duluth, Ga.-based Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI), has promoted Glenn Williams to the position of CEO and also elected him to the board of directors, effective April 1.

In announcing the promotion, current Primerica co-CEO Rick Williams (no relation to Glenn Williams) said, “Glenn has served as our ‘right hand man’ for the past 10 years and we are confident that he is the ideal leader to take the helm of our company and continue our growth trajectory. He possesses tremendous depth of understanding of our sales force, has valuable experience running our Canadian operations and leading Primerica’s overall management team, and he has been at the forefront of our most successful initiatives.”

Glenn Williams, age 55, began his career with Primerica in 1981 as a member of the company’s sales force. In 1985, Williams moved to Canada as part of Primerica’s international expansion team, where he spent 15 years in roles of increasing responsibility. He led Primerica’s Canadian subsidiary as president and CEO from 1996 to 2000. In 2000, he returned to Primerica’s Duluth headquarters as executive vice president of field and product marketing for international operations. In 2005, Primerica elevated Williams to president of the company.

Primerica Canada has been in operation for more than 28 years, and is headquartered in Mississauga, Ont. It provides term life insurance and segregated funds through Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada, and mutual funds through PFSL Investments Canada Ltd.,

Glenn Williams will address 500 of the company’s top Canadian sales representatives in a leadership meeting on Friday, January 9, in Mississauga. During the meeting, Williams will be joined by current Primerica co-CEO John Addison, Peter Schneider, who will be advancing to president, and other Primerica home office leaders. New sales force initiatives will be highlighted in this session, Primerica says.

Williams will also meet with an estimated 5,000 Primerica representatives on Saturday, January 10, in Toronto as he kicks off a six province ‘Accelerate Success’ tour. In addition to showcasing the new sales initiatives, these meetings will also highlight 2014 successes of Primerica Canada, including record-breaking client asset values of approximately $10 billion, and life insurance face amount in force of approximately $98 billion at year’s end. Primerica also paid approximately $107 million in compensation to its Canadian sales representatives, which represents a 10% increase, year-over-year.