Bill Peressini Named Chief Executive Officer Of Hancock Natural Resource Group

BOSTON, Aug. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Peressini has been named Chief Executive Officer of the Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), the company announced today.

Mr. Peressini, whose appointment is effective on January 1, 2016, will replace Dan Christensen, who will be retiring at the end of the year after 23 years with the company, the last 12 as its CEO. Mr. Peressini also will join the HNRG Board of Directors.

In addition, as previously announced, Wilfred Steiner has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of HNRG, effective Oct. 1, 2015.

"We are thrilled to have Bill step into his new role as HNRG's CEO," said Warren A. Thomson, Chief Investment Officer of Manulife Financial and Chairman of Hancock Natural Resource Group. "Since joining us as chief financial officer four years ago, he has been an invaluable member of the team. He has played a vital role in the development of the Hancock Renewable Energy Group and in developing the integrated farmland investment management platform of the Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, two vital items for the future growth of HNRG. Bill is a strong leader and has the vision to build on HNRG's current success and set the stage for future growth."

"It is a tribute to Dan Christensen's excellent stewardship of the organization over the past 12 years that we can so confidently place the reins of leadership into Bill's hands," Mr. Thomson added. "In addition to overseeing the rapid growth of HNRG during the past decade, he has developed an outstanding leadership team and depth throughout the organization. We thank him for all he has brought to HNRG and wish him all the best as he heads into a new phase of his life."

Upon his retirement, Mr. Christensen will continue as chairman of HNRG's subsidiary companies and will take on the role of Chairman of HNRG's Board of Directors. He will replace Mr. Thomson who is stepping down as chairman, but remaining on the board. Mr. Christensen also will continue to work in the natural resource industry with industry associations.

Mr. Peressini, who was named president of HNRG earlier this year, has been its Chief Financial Officer since joining the organization in 2011. Before coming to HNRG, Mr. Peressini held senior management positions at Stimson Lumber Company, a privately-held integrated forest products company, and PacifiCorp, an energy and telecommunications company. Both companies are based in Oregon.

Mr. Steiner is Managing Director Australasia (HNRGA) and Director of International Finance. Since joining the organization in 2004, he has held a number of roles and worked on major timberland transactions in Australia, New Zealand and Chile. He will be relocating from Sydney, Australia to Boston. Before joining HNRG in 2004, Mr. Steiner was the CFO of Hoyts Cinemas Limited. He also had worked at Arthur Andersen.

About the Hancock Natural Resource Group
The Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc. is a unit of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. Based in Boston, it consists of three businesses: The Hancock Timber Resource Group, Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, and Hancock Renewable Energy Group. HNRG manages timberland, agricultural and renewable energy investments on behalf of institutional investors globally. As of June 30 2015, the organization had $14 billion in assets under management and manages investments in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

About Manulife Asset Management Private Markets
Manulife Asset Management Private Markets has investment expertise in several private asset classes, including commercial real estate, timberland and farmland, biomass renewable energy, oil and gas, private equity and mezzanine debt. Manulife Asset Management Private Markets also partners with Manulife's specialized private asset investment teams to invest in private placement debt and commercial mortgages. Hancock Natural Resources Group, Manulife Real Estate, John Hancock Real Estate, NAL Resources, Regional Power, Manulife Capital, and Hancock Capital Management are units of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets.  As at June 30, 2015, Manulife's assets under management in private asset classes were C$98 billion (US$78 billion), including assets managed by and for Manulife's general fund and external clients. Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com/PrivateMarkets.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing comprehensive asset management solutions for investors. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at June 30, 2015, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$390 billion (US$312 billion). Manulife Asset Management's public markets units have investment expertise across a broad range of asset classes including public equity and fixed income, and asset allocation strategies.  Offices with full investment capabilities are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In addition, Manulife Asset Management has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. The public markets units of Manulife Asset Management also provide investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. John Hancock Asset Management and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management. Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2014, we had 28,000 employees, 58,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers. At the end of June 2015, we had $883 billion (US$708 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $22 billion in benefits, interest and other payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.  Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock

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