Foresters Financial announces leadership change

TORONTO, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Today, Foresters Financial (Foresters) announced that Louis Gagnon has left his position as President and Chief Executive Officer for personal reasons.

Mr. Gagnon joined Foresters at a time of social and economic uncertainty and led the organization through an important transitional period which included among other things the adoption of the new IFRS 17 accounting standard and the amalgamation of Foresters Canadian business with Canada Protection Plan. During his tenure, Mr. Gagnon promoted strong member and employee engagement as well as advanced the organization's corporate Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives. The Foresters Board of Directors thanks him for his contributions and wishes him the best.

The search for a permanent President and CEO has begun and the Board of Directors has appointed René Zanin to lead the organization on an interim basis. Since rejoining Foresters in 2015, Mr. Zanin has been a key member of the executive team. He has the full confidence of the Board in leading the organization through this period of transition.

Mr. Zanin and the executive team will focus on continued performance for Foresters Financial. They will support the organization in achieving its financial targets in the Canadian, American, and UK markets while ensuring that Foresters remains deeply committed to its purpose and mission. Foresters Financial is well-positioned to become even stronger with a renewed commitment to long-term growth, benefiting members, their families, and the communities in which they live.

Bringing a better, new normal to everyday families, Foresters offers a suite of unique member benefits¹ and is redefining the conventional life insurance model. Member benefits include Foresters Go™² opportunities for scholarships, orphan benefits, community volunteer grants, document preparation services for creating wills and other legal documents, Lifelong Learning, MemberDeals, and more.

Foresters Financial is redefining the life insurance and individual savings industry across the United States, Canada and United Kingdom by enriching the lives, communities, and overall well-being of its members. Agents and members alike appreciate the turnkey-decisioned product offerings and end-to-end digitized processes that make it easy to get life insurance without traditional medical exams (insurability depends on answers to medical and other application questions and underwriting searches and review). State-of-the-art mobile tools help agents deliver tailored plans to prospective and current members. Dedicated to its members' well-being, Foresters offers a suite of member benefits and is redefining the conventional life insurance model, bringing improved financial security and overall wellness to everyday families. Foresters Financial is the trade name for The Independent Order of Foresters, the oldest non-denominational fraternal benefit society. For 22 straight years, The Independent Order of Foresters has received an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best.³

¹ Foresters Financial member benefits are non-contractual, subject to benefit specific eligibility requirements, definitions, and limitations and may be changed or cancelled without notice or are no longer available.

² Foresters Go is provided by The Independent Order of Foresters and is operated by dacadoo AG.

³ The A.M. Best rating assigned on August 4, 2022, reflects the overall strength and claims-paying ability of The Independent Order of Foresters (IOF) but does not apply to the performance of any non-IOF issued products. An "A" (Excellent) rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by. A.M. Best Company. A.M. Best assigns ratings from A++ to F, A++ and A+ being superior ratings and A and A- being excellent ratings. See ambest.com for our latest rating.

Foresters Financial, Foresters, Helping Is Who We Are, Foresters Care, Foresters Moments, Foresters Renew, Foresters Go and the Foresters Go logo are trade names and/or trademarks of The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, ON, Canada M3C 1T9) and its subsidiaries. 

Canada Protection Plan is a trademark of Canada Protection Plan Inc, a Foresters Financial Company. 

422154 CAN/US (07/23)

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SOURCE Foresters Financial