Former Scottish Widows senior executive Emma Watkins will become UK CEO at Canada Life from 1 September.

She joins after a decade at Scottish Widows where she was most recently managing director of retirement and a member of the executive committee.

She replaces Lindsey Rix-Broom, who will continue to lead Canada Life UK before moving to her new role as CEO, Europe, at parent firm Great-West Lifeco.

Ms Watkins’ appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

During her time at Scottish Widows, Ms Watkins built a £6bn bulk annuity business, spearheaded the growth of the annuity portfolio and played a key role in the modernisation and digitisation of annuity operations.

Prior to her time at Scottish Widows, she was a partner at pensions consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock LLP and held a number of senior roles within insurance businesses, including MetLife Assurance and Ace European Group.

Ms Watkins said: “Canada Life has achieved significant milestones under Lindsey’s leadership, driven by a clear strategy and focus on delivering value to customers, and underpinned by the company’s people-centred culture.

"I am excited to build on this momentum and look forward to working with Canada Life’s talented team to drive innovation, expand our market presence, and enhance our offering to meet the evolving needs of customers.”

Canada Life provides UK individuals and business with a range of retirement, investment, insurance and wealth solutions. It offers individual annuities, pension de-risking solutions, home finance, estate planning, investment, and workplace protection products.

The provider is part of a group of companies controlled by Canadian international financial services holding company Great-West Lifeco.