Pierre Vincent – The actuary who thinks big

In addition to keeping a close eye on how iA ranks in insurance sales, Pierre is committed to people’s well-being. His goal, above and beyond the company’s performance, is to provide Canadians with better financial security.

As Senior Vice President, Distribution and Product Development, he believes that iA’s comprehensive lineup of insurance and savings plans can make a real difference in the lives of his fellow citizens. “In Quebec alone, we help over 670,000 families with our Career Network. We’re one of the reasons they have accumulated $10 billion for their projects, their retirement, and their children’s education,” he says.

The Concordia University actuarial graduate has divided his life between Quebec City, where he grew up, and Montreal and Toronto. His time in Toronto, where he worked as an actuary for three insurance companies, left him with a deep appreciation of the city’s cultural diversity. “Working with people from all over the world makes you want to see what’s going on elsewhere, to discover other ways of living,” he said.

Travel has bonded his blended family of five children, now in their twenties. “Meals for twelve are still very common, and so is travelling together,” he notes. His favourite destination? Italy, especially the Amalfi Coast and Puglia, for their exotic landscapes.

After several years as an actuary, he had an opportunity to move into sales at his former employer. “I’ve always liked new ideas and new challenges and I'm not a big fan of routine. So I took the plunge.” At the invitation of Denis Ricard, he took the helm of Excellence Life Insurance Company, leading the organization until it merged with Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. on January 1, 2020.

After the merger, he was put in charge of product distribution and development at iA Financial Group. “Having responsibility for both means I have no excuses if we don’t hit our targets,” says the experienced manager. “I think the team has developed the best product portfolio in Canada for individual insurance and savings products.” However, distribution remains a major challenge. “We are continuing to grow our distribution network of over 30,000 advisors by giving them the right tools to serve as many people as possible across Canada.”

He has lots of ideas—“sometimes too many!” he laughingly admits—on how to do this. Like integrating two participating life insurance products or using technology to reach new immigrants. “I don’t think I’ll be bored in the next few years,” says the dynamic VP.