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Sun Life's Marie-Chantal Côté and Anne Meloche named Benefits and Pensions Monitor's 2024 Elite Women Winners

TORONTO, March 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Sun Life is pleased to congratulate Marie-Chantal Côté, Senior Vice-President, Group Benefits and Anne Meloche, Head of Institutional Business, Sun Life Global Investments on being named Benefits and Pensions Monitor's 2024 Elite Women. This award recognizes exceptional women for their outstanding professional achievements and meaningful contributions across the group benefits and pensions industry over the past year.

Marie-Chantal Côté leads one of Canada's largest group benefits businesses. Sun Life group benefits plans provide health and wellness benefits to approximately three million Canadians and their families. With a relentless drive to help Canadians live healthier lives, Marie-Chantal is pushing boundaries to strengthen the benefits and health solutions available to people across the country.

Passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion, Marie-Chantal is working to ensure this is reflected in workplace plans from coast-to-coast. Under her leadership, Sun Life's Group Benefits has launched several innovative products that help meet the unique and diverse needs of Canadians. This includes gender affirmation coverage, family building benefits, and greater support of women's health in the workplace. She is also overseeing Sun Life's administration of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). Together with the Government of Canada, the CDCP will provide access to dental care for up to 9 million Canadians in need.

As a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, she is passionate about representation and being a voice for others. Marie-Chantal believes that employees of all backgrounds deserve to have a seat at the table. She is also an executive leader for Sun Life's pride inclusion network, helping to create a safe space for 2SLGBTQIA+ employees. Marie-Chantal is a role model at Sun Life and has proven that there is a path to success for everyone.

"Marie-Chantal is an innovative leader who is commited to improving the health and well-being of Canadians. She has propelled the group benefits industry forward by ensuring Canadians' unique and diverse needs are met," said Dave Jones, President, Sun Life Health. "She continues to make a meaningful impact at Sun Life, for our Clients and the broader community. I'm extremely proud of Marie-Chantal's accomplishments and know she'll continue to inspire inclusion."

As head of the institutional business for Sun Life Global Investments, Anne oversees the development and growth of the business, providing Canadian plan sponsors, consultants and advisors with investment solutions that are focused on delivering strong retirement outcomes. Anne is pushing boundaries to enhance the products and solutions offered to Canadians so they can build their wealth and turn their savings into income at retirement.

As a result of Anne's Client-centric focus, the Sun Life Global Investments institutional business has grown to be the sixteenth largest pension manager in Canada and a leader in target date funds—with more than $10 billion in Sun Life Granite Target Date Funds[1]. As a member of Sun Life Global Investments' Sustainability Committee, Anne supports the business' sustainability commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, evidenced by signing on to the Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI) and Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative.

Anne is passionate about developing top talent and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) across Sun Life Global Investments. Through mentorship and community engagement, Anne is taking steps to reduce the gender gap and empower the next generation of women across the wealth management industry. An active mentor in Sun Life's Mentoring Québec DE&I program, Anne is helping to promote a healthier, more inclusive workplace where employees can bring their authentic selves to work. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Québec Breast Cancer Foundation to help support the financial well-being of women affected by breast cancer.

"I am proud to congratulate Anne on this well-deserved recognition," said Oricia Smith, President, SLGI Asset Management Inc. and Senior Vice-President, Investment Solutions, Sun Life Canada. "Since joining Sun Life Global Investments in 2012, Anne has made tremendous advancements to our institutional business and to the solutions they offer. She's also played a key role in moving the dial on our sustainability journey, while building a culture that supports diversity. Her vision to create a stronger, more equitable industry is central to Sun Life Global Investments' Purpose of helping Canadians achieve lifetime financial security and live their most meaningful lives."

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2023, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.40 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

SLGI Asset Management Inc. is a subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. It offers Canadians a diverse lineup of mutual funds and innovative portfolio solutions, empowering them to pursue their financial goals at every life stage. We bring together the strength of one of Canada's most trusted names in financial services, Sun Life, with some of the best asset managers from around the world to deliver a truly global investment platform. As of December 31, 2023, SLGI Asset Management Inc. manages $36.1 billion on behalf of institutional and retail investors from coast-to-coast and is a member of the Sun Life group of companies. For more information visit www.sunlifeglobalinvestments.com.

Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars.

Media Relations Contact:

Laura Torchia
Manager, Corporate Communications
T. 416-818-5613
[email protected]

Carolyn Rae
Senior Specialist, Corporate Communications
T. 416-565-7307
[email protected]

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.