May 13, 2014

Duncan Jackman

Mark Sylvia

Duncan Jackman, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of E-L Financial Corporation Limited and Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Sylvia as President and Chief Executive Officer of Empire Life effective June 2, 2014. Mr. Sylvia will succeed Les Herr, who will be stepping down as President at the end of May.

“Mr. Sylvia has an impressive track record of leading and growing mid-sized and specialty insurance companies in Canada by focusing on service, simplicity and strategic partnerships,” said Mr. Jackman in a press release issued earlier today. 

Mr. Sylvia comes to Empire Life from his current role as President of Clarity Underwriting Managers Inc., an insurance consultancy firm he founded in 2010. From 1999 to 2010 he served as Chief Executive Officer of Echelon General Insurance Company, President & Chief Operating Officer of Trent Health Insurance Service Corp and Canadian Insurance Marketing Inc., all of which were affiliated companies of EGI Financial Holdings Inc. From 1988 until 1999 Mr. Sylvia was President and Chief Executive Officer of Hartford Life Insurance Company of Canada. 

Mr. Sylvia is a Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (1979) of the Insurance Institute of Canada, and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (1994) of the Life Office Management Association Inc., and is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Society for Risk Analysis. 

Mark is bilingual and has extensive experience in all three of our main product lines, insurance, investments and group. For the past four years, he has worked with distribution partners and customers on plan design, strategy and consulting. 

The company remains committed to maintaining strong, productive relationships with distribution partners and expects a smooth transition. Under Mark’s leadership, we look forward to continuing to work with you to build wealth and protect the financial security of Canadians.