Following the conclusion of its annual meeting, iA Financial Group has announced that two new directors have been elected to the boards of iA Financial Corporation and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services (iA Insurance) - Ouma Sananikone and Rebecca Schechter.
Sananikone is a corporate director with deep expertise in finance, particularly in investment management and environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, covering all asset classes. She is a member of boards such as Innergex Renewable Energy and Ivanhoe Cambridge, and served on the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s board for a decade.
Schechter is currently an executive at Optum Behavioral Health, a provider of information and technology-based health services. According to a company release, she has a track record of profitable growth and business transformation in the group programs, retirement, financial technology and healthcare segments.
iA Financial Group held its annual meeting on May 12, 2022; elections for the boards were also conducted on the date. Apart from Sananikone and Schechter’s inclusion on the boards, company shareholders also voted for Deloitte to serve as the company’s external auditor. Notably, two separate shareholder proposals to turn iA Financial into a benefits company and make French the company’s official language were rejected during the meeting.
Earlier this year, two of iA Financial Group’s senior executives – president and CEO Denis Ricard and executive vice president of individual insurance, savings and retirement Renée Laflamme – were recognized as Top of Quebec’s Financial Industry Leaders by Finance et Investissement newspaper.
