Executive committee

David Nish was appointed Group Chief Executive in January 2010. He joined Standard Life as Group Finance Director in November 2006. David is a Deputy Chairman of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and chairs their Life Insurance Council Management Committee. David was previously a non-executive director with Northern Foods plc, a major food manufacturer, Thus plc, a telecoms and internet provider, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Before joining Standard Life, David was Executive Director, Infrastructure Division at Scottish Power plc. He also held the roles of Finance Director from 1999 to 2005 having joined the company as Deputy Finance Director in 1997.

Prior to this, he worked at Price Waterhouse, becoming a Partner in the firm in 1993. He managed a portfolio of major Plc clients, including household names in the power, drinks, financial services and retail industries.

He began his career with Price Waterhouse in 1981 after graduating as a Bachelor of Accountancy from Glasgow University. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984 and, from 1987 to 1989, worked in Mississauga, Canada as a manager for the firm.

In 2004-2005, David was a member of the UK Government's Employers Pension Task Force and also the Accounting Standards Board's Urgent Issues Task Force.

Charles Guay is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada. As such, he continues to strengthen the Company’s growth in the long-term savings and investment industry in Canada, a sector in which he has extensive experience.

He joined Standard Life in February 2012, after holding several senior management positions at National Bank of Canada between 2005 and 2011. He has also worked in various roles at Fidelity Investments Canada and RBC Dominion Securities. In 2005, he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, a group of the most influential young managers in the country.

Charles Guay is a graduate of Université Laval in Québec City and Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. Mr. Guay is actively involved with various non-profit organizations, including Forces AVENIR and the Foundation of Stars.

Christian Martineau has been Chief Financial Officer since 1997. In this role, he is responsible for financial strategy and risk management. In November 2010, he was also entrusted with the supervision of our competitiveness and the management of our product and service fee structure.

Since he first joined Standard Life in 1974, Mr. Martineau has held several key positions. From 1985 to 1988, he served as Vice-President, Individual Administration. Subsequently, he was promoted to Senior Vice-President, Information Technology, a position he held until his appointment as head of the Finance team in 1997.

Christian Martineau has a Bachelor in Actuarial Science from Université Laval. He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and has completed the Advance Management Program at Harvard University.

In April 2011, Graham Nichol was appointed Senior Vice-President, Customer Experience. Mr. Nichol will ensure intermediaries and customers have an exceptional customer experience at all times when dealing with Standard Life in Canada.

Mr. Nichol has been with the company since 1982 and has worked in roles leading customer service operations in the UK. Under his leadership, Standard Life plc has been recognized for the quality of its service. Advisors have consistently awarded Standard Life their highest marks for more than a decade, which resulted in a special outstanding achievement award in 2008.

Jean Guay, formerly Senior Vice-President, Customer Experience, has been appointed Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, as of June 1, 2011. In this role, Mr. Guay focuses on strengthening the company's distribution channels and building a strong marketing function.

Mr. Guay joined the Standard Life team in 1984. From 1995 to 1997, he worked in the Sales division of Standard Life in the United Kingdom as part of an exchange program. From 1997 to April 2004, Jean held the position of Senior Vice-President, Customer Services, and then of Senior Vice-President, Information Technology, until 2005. In March 2005, Jean Guay was appointed Senior Vice-President, Group Insurance, and in 2010, he was appointed Senior Vice-President, Customer Experience, a position he held until his current appointment.

Jean Guay holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal. In 1996, he also completed the Advanced Management Program at King's College, University of Aberdeen, in Scotland.

Jackie Hunt was appointed Chief Financial Officer in May 2010. She joined Standard Life plc as Deputy Group Finance Director in January 2009.

Jackie has extensive international experience in the financial services industry. Before joining Standard Life, she held a number of senior finance roles with the Aviva Group, including that of Chief Finance Officer and board member of Norwich Union Insurance, Group Finance Director of the Hibernian Group, one of the leading life and group benefits providers in Ireland (Republic of Ireland), and Finance Director for the Aviva Group Corporate Office.

Prior to her time with Aviva, she was Deputy Director, Capital Management, at Royal & SunAlliance from 1999 to 2003 and held several senior roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1995 to 1999.

During her career, Jackie has worked in New Zealand, the United States and Switzerland. She is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Accounting and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Louise Pellerin-Lacasse has been Vice-President, Product Development and Management since November 2010. She is responsible for leading the creation, development and on-going management of leading-edge propositions based on customers’ need. She also ensures that Standard Life’s propositions continue to evolve in order to maintain a strong offering in the Canadian retail and group markets.

Mrs. Pellerin-Lacasse joined Standard Life in 1979. Through the years, she gained wide experience and knowledge of the business by working in various departments including Corporate Actuarial, Group Consulting and Product Development for retail and group savings and retirement clients. In 1993, she was appointed Vice-President, Product Development, and five years later, Vice-President, Marketing, Group Savings and Retirement, a position she held until 2005 when she was appointed Vice-President, Risk Management, until her most recent appointment.

Mrs. Pellerin-Lacasse has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Université de Montréal, is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and of the Society of Actuaries and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst.

Penny Westman has been Senior Vice-President, Legal and Compliance since March 2005. She is responsible for the provision of legal services to the Canadian operations, including the secretarial function for all of the Canadian companies and the Branch. As Chief Compliance Officer, she is responsible for the setting of policies and procedures for adherence to regulatory requirements, monitoring of these policies and procedures and compliance reporting to Senior Management and the Board.

Between June 1998 and March 2005, Ms. Westman was Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary. She was responsible for providing legal counsel regarding all activities carried on by the Company and its subsidiaries and joint ventures in Canada so as to protect the interests and reputation of the Company.

Penny Westman joined Standard Life in April 1997 as Associate General Counsel after a successful career in corporate law, contract administration and private practice. Before joining Standard Life, Ms. Westman was Director of Legal Services for a large Canadian retailer from 1987 to 1996.

Ms. Westman obtained a Bachelor in Civil Law degree from Université de Montréal in 1976, as well as a nationally accredited Common Law equivalency certificate from the University of Ottawa in 1997.

Sandy Begbie was appointed Group People and Transformation Director for Standard Life plc in May 2010. He is responsible for delivering the organisational change program at the Group level to create a new fit for purpose business.

Before joining Standard Life, he was HR Director at AEGON UK (2007-2010) and Scottish Power (2000-2007). Prior to this, he held a range of senior roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland (1983-2000), including Leadership, Management and Talent Development, Business Change, Organisation Development and Training and Reward roles.

Sandy gained an MBA from Edinburgh University and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He is also a non-Executive Director with the Scottish Government, chairs their Remuneration Committee, and was a non-executive director at Wharton Business School in Philadelphia for 7 years, until 2010. Sandy's main areas of expertise lie in developing talent management programs with a strong focus on growing talent from within an organisation.

Sylvie Des Roches has been Vice-President, Internal Audit since March 2006. Her role is to ensure that effective and efficient control processes are in place and regularly maintained in order to mitigate significant risks.

Prior to joining Standard Life in 1999, Mrs. Des Roches worked for two major Canadian insurance companies where she acquired an expertise in internal audit and compliance. From 2001 to 2005 she held the position of Senior Manager, Corporate Compliance and was appointed Vice-President, Compliance in 2005, a position she held until 2006. During this period, she was responsible, among other things, for the development and implementation of the anti-money laundering policy and controls within the Company.

Sylvie Des Roches holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Université Laval and became a chartered accountant in 1986. She gained extensive experience in external auditing between 1984 and 1989 in both Québec and Toronto. She has been working in the insurance and financial products industry since 1989, enabling her to have a solid understanding of the industry.

Sophie Fortin is Senior Vice-President, People and Communications. As such, she is responsible for the strategy designed to attract, train and retain talented employees while promoting a highly effective and motivating working environment. She is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of a corporate communication strategy for internal and external audiences.

Ms. Fortin joined Standard Life in 2008. She is a seasoned human resources executive with more than 20 years of experience with major national and international companies. Over the course of her career, she also carried out mandates in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico and Africa. She was the Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Corporate Services, from June 2008 until her current appointment in November 2010.

Sophie Fortin holds a Master of Business Administration with a major in Psychology from Concordia University. She is also a Certified Human Resource Professional and a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines du Québec.

Serge Lamothe has been Vice-President, Information and Technology, since 2006. In this position, he is responsible for implementing a sophisticated IT strategy that supports the implementation of innovative and flexible business solutions. He is also responsible for the General Project Management Bureau.

Mr. Lamothe joined the Standard Life team in 1988. Since the beginning of his career, he has acquired considerable expertise in the field of information technology. In 1998, he was appointed Vice-President, Operations, and in 2000, Vice-President, Technology Services. From 2003 to 2006, he acted as Vice-President, Architecture and Corporate Services, before being appointed to his current position in 2006.

Mr. Lamothe actively participates in several seminars on trends in the field of information technology. He holds a certificate in accounting from HEC Montréal.

Sylvain Messier was appointed to the position of Vice-President, Strategy and Development, in June 2010. In this role, he has the overall responsibility of developing and articulating the strategic objectives of the company. More specifically, he is responsible for delivering and managing a comprehensive strategic plan, providing research-based information and analysis for effective decision making to the whole organization, and for successfully driving corporate partnerships and ventures.

Mr. Messier joined Standard Life in 1997 and has held several strategic positions in Finance. In 2002, he was appointed Vice-President, Corporate Finance, a position he held until his current appointment. Prior to joining Standard Life, he held various management positions, including Manager, Treasury Operations in a transportation company and Manager, Audit at one of the largest accounting firms in the country.

Sylvain Messier holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Université de Sherbrooke and holds a CA designation from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has also trained in the Leadership Program at McGill University.