About

Melissa Kennedy joined Sun Life Financial, one of the largest life insurance companies in the world with operations dating back to 1865, in 2014 and became chief legal officer in May 2015. Overseeing the legal, compliance, corporate secretarial and corporate and public affairs functions in an insurer that serves nearly 40 million people in more than 20 jurisdictions globally, Kennedy is responsible for managing an enormous amount of regulatory complexity and legal service provision. Sun Life Financial appointed Kennedy with a mandate to help protect the company’s long-standing integrity as a leading insurer by enhancing its commitment to transparency and clearly documented accountability, while supporting its highly-rated enterprise risk management practices. Kennedy arrived at Sun Life Financial with a distinguished record of managing legal risk at complex institutions, having previously served as general counsel at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of Canada’s largest pension funds, associate general counsel at The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), and head of the prosecution team at the Ontario Securities Commission. Kennedy is a member of University of Toronto’s Law Alumni Association Council and sits on the executive committee of the Legal Leaders for Diversity and Inclusion.