New hire from HSBC to lead Sun Life’s high net worth growth strategy

Life insurance company  Sun Life has hired a new chief executive officer (CEO) of Sun Life International, its high net worth (HNW) life business based in Bermuda.

Donna Cotter will take the lead at Sun Life International after joining from HSBC, where she was global head of strategic partnerships for the retail banking and wealth management business based in Hong Kong. Before that, she spent over 14 years with Manulife, the last ten in various positions in Hong Kong and Japan, most recently as vice president for strategy and business development of Manulife Financial in Tokyo.

Originally from Canada, Cotter started her career in Manulife’s Ontario office. Her expertise encompasses global insurance, wealth management, and banking across five continents, said Sun Life.

“As a Canadian, I was very familiar with the Sun Life brand and its strength as a preeminent global financial services provider,” said Cotter. “In my new role, I will be driving our growth strategy to further strengthen our position as a global leader in the HNW Life Insurance
Market.”

Karim Gilani, president of Sun Life International Hubs, which covers its businesses in Bermuda, Hong Kong and Singapore, said: “We are excited to welcome Donna to Sun Life International. She is a highly regarded industry expert with over ten years’ experience in executive leadership roles in Asia.

“Donna brings a wealth of experience from prior executive roles spanning corporate strategy, business development, M&A, corporate sustainability, distribution, product development, finance, and operations. She is focused on building strong business relationships with our broker partners and shares Sun Life’s vision of offering best-in-class service to our clients.”