Career in transition, eye on opportunity

Winnipeg Free Press

5 days ago

In the executive suite, a special greeter helms the reception desk — a reversible plush octopus.
It's smiling: it's a Friday in July, sunlight is cascading through the windows, it's inside a Winnipeg-headquartered company that oversees more than $3 trillion in total client assets.
And, from the outgoing leader's perspective, Great-West Lifeco is poised to grow further.
Paul Mahon is eyeing retirement — both his own and the sector in general, as a growth 'opportunity' for the mammoth financial services company.
Acquiring more retirement-focused firms is likely in Great-West Lifeco's future, said Mahon, 61. Acquisitions aren't new to him — he's overseen plenty during his 39-year career with the business.
He officially left his role as president and chief executive on Canada Day. However, he's still in his office overlooking Osborne Street, steps away from the friendly stuffed animal.
Mahon will keep commuting to work until early 2026. He's advising his replacement, David Harney, on how to steer the international company and its many subsidiaries.
He sat down to reflect in a wide-ranging interview with the Free Press.
'It's been a really good transition,' said Mahon, who started with Great-West Lifeco in 1986.
When he became president in 2013, the company had $582 billion in consolidated assets under administration. It had just announced its $1.75 billion purchase of Irish Life, an Ireland-based life insurance, pension and investment provider.
Canada Life — the country's first life insurance company — and London Life were already under Great-West Lifeco's umbrella. It had 20,000 staff and at least 12 million Canadian customers.
The parent company now counts more than 40 million customers globally. It employs some 32,000 people, including 13,000 Canadians. Manitobans account for 3,600 staffers, making Great-West Lifeco one of the province's biggest employers.
'You grow organically by winning more customers every day out in the marketplace.'— Paul Mahon
Mahon attributes the growth, in part, to 'competitive' offerings and services.
'You grow organically by winning more customers every day out in the marketplace,' he said.
Acquisitions have also ballooned the numbers. Over the past five years, Great-West Lifeco has shifted its gaze into the United States, acquiring companies as it's built out its retirement arm.
The corporation's U.S. retirement subsidiary — called Empower — is a result of at least three major acquisitions, including the 2014 takeover of J.P. Morgan's retirement business. Great-West Lifeco has offered retirement options in the U.S. since the 1980s, but an acceleration came around 2019.
'We saw there was both that organic growth opportunity (and) that consolidation opportunity,' Mahon recalled.
Empower now has more than 19 million clients, Mahon said. Older adults outnumber children in 11 states, the U.S. Census Bureau shared in June.
'I think we'll continue to see Empower grow,' Mahon stated. 'There's opportunities for further acquisition there.'
Empower customers have self-service technology; it makes the brand more attractive to subscale firms open to being purchased, per Mahon.
Great-West Lifeco sold Putnam Investments, an investment management firm in the U.S., partly to focus on its retirement portfolio. It took a stake in Franklin Resources, the company who bought Putnam.
Meanwhile, Great-West Lifeco has been expanding its wealth management side.
Canada Life acquired the Investment Planning Counsel from IGM Financial in April 2023, and Value Partners, a wealth planning firm, two months later.
A 2024 survey by JLL, a global real estate and investment management company, found 16 per cent of wealth management firms expected to be acquired or to leave the market by 2027.
For Great-West Lifeco, there's a chance for growth, Mahon said.
'The balance of our businesses are really important businesses to us,' he said, highlighting group benefits like health and dental coverage. 'We'll continue to invest in that.'
He expressed confidence in Harney, whom he's passing the reins to. Harney, an actuary by trade, started with Irish Life more than 35 years ago. The new CEO wasn't available for an interview by print deadline.
'I'm personally energized by the opportunity,' Harney said in a news release.
Great-West Lifeco shifts as the world changes, Mahon noted. Climate risks affect insurance claims — in 2025's first quarter, Great-West Lifeco had a California wildfires-related claims provision of $21 million.
'We want to make sure that we're investing in companies that will thrive 10, 20, 30 years into the future,' Mahon said.
Artificial intelligence use is already being implemented, he added. Management attended a Great-West Lifeco event where employees showcased their AI usage science fair-style. Harney studied artificial intelligence before it exploded in the public zeitgeist, Mahon said.
'I think AI will be a tool to make us more efficient and more effective,' he added. 'But I think it has to be balanced with those … personal relationships.'
'We want to make sure that we're investing in companies that will thrive 10, 20, 30 years into the future.'– Paul Mahon
Such relationships are key in call centres and service roles, Mahon said.
'You (might) need less people doing one thing,' he said. 'At the same time, you're going to need more technology experts.
'When a company is large and growing, it creates opportunities.'
Great-West Lifeco has grown at an 'unprecedented' level in the insurance industry, said Bram Strain, the Business Council of Manitoba's president.
Canada Life is a council member; Mahon sits on the entity's board.
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'I'm not worried about Canada Life at all,' Strain said, adding plenty of senior management reside in Winnipeg.
Mahon has been a 'stalwart' in the community, Strain continued: 'I'm excited for what comes next.'
Mahon and his wife Anne, a former University of Manitoba chancellor, are preparing to chair United Way Winnipeg's campaign next year. The new retiree said he also plans to help tackle the issue of homelessness.
And more family time is in the cards — he's been working at Great-West Lifeco since his U of M graduation, preceded by a St. Paul's High School convocation.
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Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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