Brian Heapps Named President of John Hancock Financial Network

BOSTON, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Brian Heapps, CLU, ChFC, was named president of John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN), it was announced by James Boyle, president of John Hancock Financial Services. In this role, Heapps is responsible for all aspects of JHFN, the company's national network of independent firms, and its broker-dealer, Signator Investors, Inc.

Heapps joined John Hancock in 1987 as a financial representative and ten years later founded the independent JHFN firm Keystone Financial Management in Allentown, PA. He joined JHFN's home office in 2007 and has served as executive vice president, agency sales and development since then. He holds the Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations. Heapps replaces Peter Gordon who has become the general manager of John Hancock Retirement Plan Services.

"I am pleased that Brian will be continuing the tremendous work that he and Peter Gordon began in JHFN five years ago," said Boyle. "His wealth of experience, both in the field and in the home office, makes him a natural to take JHFN forward."

In addition, it was announced that Bruce Harrington was promoted to vice president of sales and business development, taking on some of Heapps' prior role and Matt Rigatti was appointed to the new position of assistant vice president of field resources.

In his new role, Harrington is responsible for JHFN sales across all product lines, relationships with all product sponsors and recruiting.

Harrington joined JHFN in July 2010 as head of retirement sales and strategy. Since then he has rolled out two retirement-related platforms for advisors, one for working in the defined contribution market and the other in the retirement income market. Previously, he served as senior vice president of retirement solutions at LPL Financial. Prior to that, he launched a new business unit focusing on syndicated research at Cogent Research. He also served as vice president and director of product development and marketing for MFS Investment Management® and as vice president of retirement marketing at Putnam Investments. 

Harrington earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Boston College and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University. He also earned a Pension Administration certificate from Bentley College and holds the designations of Accredited Investment Fiduciary, Certified Retirement Counselor and Certified College Planning Specialist.

Rigatti, in his new role, will be responsible for setting strategy and overseeing JHFN's field facing teams including firm financing, information technology and supervision.

Since joining John Hancock in 1995, Rigatti has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in variable annuity operations. Most recently he was responsible for overseeing large scale projects throughout that business unit. Prior to that, Rigatti was responsible for the management of key operational departments in John Hancock's annuity area including licensing, commissions, and new business. He also had been charged with managing a department dedicated to providing superior service to the company's top annuities brokers. Rigatti is a graduate of Boston College with a degree in history.

"Now that our team is in place, we're uniquely positioned to be in an assertive sales and growth mode for 2012," said Heapps. "Creating a more field-facing team should provide even more support to help our national network of independent advisors as they look to grow their businesses."  

About John Hancock Financial Network
John Hancock Financial Network is a national network of independent firms with approximately 1,900 advisors across the U.S. A leader with the stability and scale to offer an innovative business model, John Hancock Financial Network gives entrepreneurial advisors the power to effectively build unique businesses, based on their own vision and market opportunity. For more information on John Hancock Financial Network and its national network of independent firms, visit https://www.johnhancockfinancialnetwork.com/?cmpid=pr_website_prnewswire_jhfn_mgt_change_01_2012.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canada-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 21 countries and territories worldwide. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150 years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife celebrates its 125th anniversary. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$492 billion (US$473 billion) as at September 30, 2011. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

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SOURCE John Hancock Financial Network