July 29, 2020
Leaders step up to help company move from awareness to action
Winnipeg, July 29, 2020. . . With an aim to accelerate and build the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, four new leaders and two new roles have been added to Canada Life’s Diversity Leadership Council. The announcement comes just one week after the company signed the BlackNorth Initiative, which pledges to support the removal of systemic barriers affecting people of colour at work and in the community.
“With 11,000 employees across the country, diversity and inclusion has always been a focus and commitment at Canada Life. We have a strong foundation with our various employee resource groups, education and awareness initiatives, unconscious bias training, and recruitment practices,” said Jeff Macoun, President and COO, Canada Life. “Now we’re taking even greater action for the benefit of our employees, customers, and communities."
“We want to bring diversity and inclusion closer to the business. Our Diversity Leadership Council is dedicated to making sure we’ll further embed, foster, and champion diversity and inclusion into our culture and how we work. I’m pleased to welcome new leadership, experiences and expertise to this Council.”
Effective immediately, Paul Orlander, Executive Vice-President, Individual Customer, will act as the Diversity Leadership Council Champion. Paul’s passionate belief in the powerful impact of an inclusive culture is grounded in his extensive experience leading diverse teams and volunteer diversity efforts in his past roles. He is eager to build on the solid foundation already in place on the council by creating a stronger connection between Canada Life’s business and its diversity and inclusion efforts. His primary focus over the next 90 days will be to bridge the various internal groups and business units to accelerate the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy. The plan will include goals to increase transparency and report on measurable results.
In addition to current employee resource groups overseen by the council – Pride @ Canada Life, Ability First, Young Professionals, Women in Leadership, and Indigenous Peoples – a new group, Black and Persons of Colour group was recently established, as was a new role to explore external opportunities. Filing these roles and one other are:
Katrina Lee-Kwen, Senior Vice-President Non-Par Insurance Solutions and Individual Customer Digital Strategy, will lead the newly created Black and Persons of Colour employee resource group.
Jeff Marshall, Chief Digital and Brand Officer, will lead the Customer and External Strategies group, with a focus on developing new opportunities that align with the Canada Life brand.
Georgia Woods, newly appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Canada, will assume leadership of the Women in Leadership committee.
The council was first established in 2018 and has since recruited over 400 employees who volunteer their time to raise awareness.
About The Canada Life Assurance Company
Canada Life is a leading insurance, wealth management and benefits provider focused on improving the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. For more than 170 years, individuals, families and business owners across Canada have trusted us to provide sound guidance and deliver on the promises we’ve made.
As of January 1, 2020, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life became one company – Canada Life, and today, we proudly serve more than 13 million customer relationships from coast to coast to coast.
For more information contact:
Liz Kulyk
Director, Media & Public Affairs
Canada Life
204-391-8515
Media.Relations@canadalife.com
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