Foresters Financial has announced the appointment of Alvin Sharma as its new global chief financial officer, effective September 17.

Sharma, who will be based in Toronto, was most recently with Echelon Insurance as chief financial officer. He has a wide breadth of experience across a number of areas, including corporate finance, investments, global treasury and capital management, as well as regulatory and rating agency management. Sharma also has extensive life insurance and asset management experience in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

Sharma a major asset to Foresters

“Alvin’s deep background in the financial industry makes him a tremendous asset to Foresters,” said Jim Boyle, president and chief executive officer, Foresters Financial. “I have full confidence he will provide timely and insightful counsel. We’re excited to have Alvin join the Foresters team and participate in our future growth.”

Sharma holds a Chartered Accountant (U.K.) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. He also holds an honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Warwick (U.K.) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Foresters Financial has assets of $17.7 billion, liabilities of $15.7 billion, total funds under management of $45.1 billion and a surplus of $2 billion.