Manulife announced Aug. 9 that it has appointed the Honourable Rona Ambrose to its Board of Directors, effective Sept. 1.

Ambrose is the former leader of Canada's Official Opposition in the House of Commons and former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. As a member of the federal cabinet for a decade, she worked as Minister across nine Canadian government departments. She retired from politics earlier this summer.

Strong leadership and a wide range of experience

"Rona has an extensive track record of strong leadership and a wide range of experience at the most senior levels of the Canadian government, and will add important diversity of thought and perspective to our Board," said Richard DeWolfe, Chairman of the Board, Manulife.

Ambrose will join the Manulife Board's Management Resources and Compensation Committee and the Risk Committee.

Gender diversity at the Board level

In its announcement, Manulife stated that it is committed to gender diversity at the Board level. With the addition of Ambrose, 40 per cent of the company's independent directors are women.