Sun Life Financial International today announced plans to hire more Bermudians and accelerate expansion in its Bermuda operation.

Top executives with the company are meeting with the Premier Michael Dunkley this week for discussions on the moves.

The Bermuda office of the financial services organisation has been adding to its employee numbers since 2012, and by the end of the year, the two-year growth rate will be more than 50 per cent, a press release from the company stated.

Plans are in place to hire additional employees in Bermuda to support the overall growth of Sun Life Financial International in 2015.

Dean Connor, who is the president and chief executive officer of Sun Life Financial; Daniel Fishbein, who is the president of Sun Life Financial US; and Andrew Darfoor, the senior vice-president and chief executive officer of Sun Life Financial International, are the executives who are visiting the Island, and meeting with the Premier to discuss the company’s commitment to Bermuda and to increasing its business on the Island.

“The senior executives will also discuss with the Premier the launch of a ‘rotational leadership development programme’ (RLDP) in Bermuda,” stated the release.

“The programme, consisting of three one-year rotations, aims to provide recent Bermudian graduates with critical business skills, knowledge of the insurance and financial services industries, and a broad understanding of Sun Life’s products, customers and business strategy.”

Mr Darfoor said: “The visit to Bermuda by our global and US leaders shows the company’s strategic commitment to the Sun Life Financial International business and our accelerating interest in expanding our presence on the Island.

“The growth in the Bermuda office will continue to mirror growth in our global footprint,” he added.

“We are proud of the great work of our talented Bermudian team and are pleased to continue to hire employees locally.

“We believe our investment in growing the Bermuda team and training a new generation of business leaders through our Rotational Leadership Development Programme will further strengthen our integrated customer proposition, encompassing investment and intergenerational wealth transfer solutions in key global markets.”

Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2014, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of almost $602 billion.

Sun Life are inviting Bermudian college seniors and/or graduate students with upcoming graduation dates and high leadership potential to apply for the programme. “Upon completion of the programme, successful RLDP participants will have the opportunity to apply for permanent roles at the company,” stated the company.

Sun Life Financial established its Bermuda-based business, Sun Life Financial International, in 1996.