SUN Life has announced that Benedict Sison will retire as chief executive officer and Philippines country head following a distinguished 15-year career with the company.
Current Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. President Jonathan Juan “JJ” Moreno will succeed Sison as the next Philippines CEO and country head effective April 1, 2026.
To help ensure a smooth transition, Sison will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and chairman of the Sun Life Philippines Holding Company and the Sun Life Foundation until Dec. 31, 2026.
Sison became CEO and country head of Sun Life Philippines in 2018 and has guided strong growth across the business.
Under his leadership, Sun Life has sustained its position as the number one life insurer in the country and today has over 6.2 million clients and a strong network of over 22,000 advisors.
Sun Life has expanded into new businesses with the launch of the Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., introduced innovative client solutions and expanded support for the Filipino community through the Sun Life Foundation.
Sison has played a leading role in the Philippine life insurance industry, having served two consecutive terms as president of the Philippine Life Insurance Association or PLIA.
His leadership and industry contributions were honored with the Executive Champion of the Year award at the Asia Trusted Life Agents and Adviser Awards or ATLAA.
Moreno has worked closely with Sison and the Sun Life Philippines leadership team since joining Sun Life in May 2025.
He brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across multiple industries, including financial services, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, transportation and as strategist in the Philippine military.
Prior to joining Sun Life, he held roles as president and CEO of AF Payments and chief strategy officer at Metro Retail Stores Group.
“I am delighted to appoint JJ to lead Sun Life Philippines,” Sun Life Asia President Manjit Singh said.
“JJ has demonstrated exceptional leadership, a deep understanding of our clients, and an unwavering commitment to our strategy to help more Filipinos achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. I also want to thank Benedict for his outstanding leadership for nearly eight years. Under his guidance, Sun Life Philippines has sustained our position as a market leader and trusted partner, helping more than six million Filipinos to achieve their life goals,” he stated.
Moreno will lead all Sun Life’s business entities in the Philippines.
“I am deeply honored to step into this role. Since joining Sun Life, I have seen the strength of our people and our purpose here in the Philippines. I look forward to working with our teams to help more Filipinos to achieve their goals for lifetime financial security and healthier lives, while building an organization that is innovative, sustainable, and a great place to work,” Moreno shared.
In the media roundtable at Lanson Place, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, on Jan. 10, 2026, Sison explained that the period between the announcement and his actual date of retirement is to facilitate smooth transition of operations to Moreno.
He also relayed his message to everyone in the organization that what he learned throughout his entire career is that “happy endings are possible only when we work together.”
“My first message to our advisors and employees is: let’s work together and rally behind JJ Moreno. The second one is to stay focused on our clients. We’ve lasted 131 years because we stayed focused on our clients, we stayed focused on their needs; in fact, we really try to get to know our clients better, understand their needs better, and even try to anticipate their changing needs so that we can respond to them as quickly and as appropriately as possible,” he said.
“Only when we’re able to address the needs of our clients do we become relevant, and that’s important. And what’s helping us become relevant is our purpose – our purpose of helping Filipinos achieve lifetime financial security. [This] is very much relevant because for as long as there’s one Filipino who has a loved one he or she wants to protect, Sun Life will be there,” Sison emphasized.
