Éric Trudel’s long leadership and oversight tenure across roles in the insurance industry resulted in a win at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18.

The executive vice-president and leader of group insurance at Beneva Inc. won the Industry Leadership award for his commitment to resourceful solutions for both benefits plan members and plan sponsors.

Even though the award carries his name, Trudel says he sees it as a team victory. “It was already a victory just to be nominated. . . . It’s a recognition that Beneva is now considered a national group insurance carrier.”

Read: SSQ Insurance, la Capitale rebranding as Beneva

Since he joined Beneva (then known as SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc.) in 1993, Trudel has held a variety of roles, including group pricing actuary, account manager in sales, senior vice-president for institutional services and senior vice-president for strategies and offer management. He credits this variety for giving him the chance to experiment with different perspectives of the insurance industry.

Before SSQ merged with la Capitale Insurance and Financial Services in 2020, it was an exclusively Quebec-centric insurer. Since then, Trudel has played a key role in the company’s expansion campaign. He points to a rapid expansion of the firm outside of Quebec as one of his proudest achievements since the rest of the country now represents between 20 and 25 per cent of Beneva’s overall business.

Demonstrating his support for new technologies, he was involved in the introduction of innovation solutions, including the use of artificial intelligence as a tool in benefits fraud prevention. As an engaged industry advocate, he has participated in the process for the adoption of the EP3 Standard — a mandatory pooling rule for insurers — by the Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corp. and the Quebec Drug Insurance Pooling Corp.

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Trudel’s approach to leadership is defined by prioritizing commitment and accountability, noted the nomination entry, as well as emphasizing collaboration and opening the door to a variety of voices to tackle difficult challenges.

Dean Bergeron, vice-president of group insurance modernization at Beneva, said Trudel has a strongly defined long-term vision of the insurance industry and has even laid out his vision extending to 2030 to his team.

Former colleague Ezaque Lopes, chief revenue officer at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., said Trudel’s leadership style is characterized by a collaborative approach. “He not only focuses on doing what is right for the business, but also takes the time to understand what’s important to the people he works with and how he can support them.”

Read:2023 Group Benefits Providers Report: Prioritizing partnerships, personalization and prevention