Sinéad O’Connor

Sinéad O'Connor has been appointed Chief Actuary at Manulife Financial Corporation, effective October 12, 2026, reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Witherington and joining Manulife's Executive Leadership Team. O'Connor will oversee the company's Actuarial, Inforce, and Reinsurance teams.

O'Connor earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Actuarial and Financial Studies from University College Dublin, graduating in 2004. Early in her career, she completed a co-op at Aviva Life in Boston before joining John Hancock Life Insurance Company (Manulife's US subsidiary) in 2007.

O'Connor has spent 19 years at Manulife since 2007, serving in critical roles including Deputy Chief Actuary, Head of Group Actuarial, US IFRS Chief Actuary, and Global Head of Inforce Management, with leadership positions spanning annuities, long-term care, and finance. Her experience encompasses actuarial reporting, capital management, reinsurance strategy, risk management, and enterprise performance, including responsibility for managing Manulife's global inforce and legacy closed blocks as well as Canadian IFRS reporting requirements.

O'Connor holds Fellow designations from the Institute of Actuaries UK and the Society of Actuaries USA, and is currently working toward obtaining her Canadian FCIA accreditation.

Career History

• Chief Actuary, Manulife Financial Corporation (2026–present)
• Global Head of Inforce Management, Manulife (most recent role before promotion)
• Deputy Chief Actuary, Manulife
• Head of Group Actuarial, Manulife
• Senior Actuarial Associate, Aviva Life Insurance Company (post-graduation, 2004)

What Sinéad O'Connor could bring to Chief Actuary at Manulife Financial Corporation: With her extensive background optimizing inforce management and legacy closed blocks, O'Connor is well-positioned to strengthen Manulife's actuarial functions and advance strategic capital management and reinsurance strategies at a time when the company is pursuing portfolio transformation. Her 19-year tenure at Manulife demonstrates deep enterprise knowledge, and her cross-divisional leadership experience in annuities, long-term care, and global finance positions her to integrate actuarial excellence with enterprise-wide risk and performance management.