Sun Life appoints former KPMG partner Joe Natale to board

Insurance firm Sun Life has appointed Joe Natale, formerly CEO of Rogers and a partner at KPMG Canada, to its board of directors.

Natale brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in the telecom and management consulting industries. From 2017 to 2021 he served as CEO of Rogers Communications, ultimately being removed by chairman Edward Rogers during a familial power struggle that pitted Edward against his sisters and mother.

Before his tenure at Rogers, Natale spent over 12 years at Telus, where he was latterly CEO. He also served as the telecom company’s chief commercial officer and EVP of the consumer division.

Prior to that, Natale spent over a dozen years in management consulting. Between 2001 and 2003, he was global managing director at KPMG Consulting (now BearingPoint). Before that, he was country leader and managing partner for consulting at KPMG Canada.

Earlier in his career, Natale founded and led PNO Management Consultants, which was acquired by KPMG in 1997.

He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo.

“As a new director, Mr. Natale sees strong alignment between key areas of Sun Life's business and strategic priorities and his own passions and expertise, which includes customer experience transformation, go-to-market strategies, technology enablement, and the health and wellness sector,” stated a press release from Sun Life. “His experience and perspective will be invaluable as Sun Life continues to evolve and adapt to the rapidly changing digital landscape.”

Natale is also currently a member of the boards of Home Capital Group and the Hospital for Sick Children, and a member of Atlas Partners’ advisory board.

Headquartered in Toronto, Sun Life provides various insurance products as well as investment and retirement savings offerings. The firm had $35.7 billion in revenue in 2021 and assets under management of $1.27 trillion as of September 2022.