Manulife announces appointment of Chief Human Resources Officer and retirement of Chief Investment Officer

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Sep 12, 2018, 08:30 ET

Pamela Kimmet appointed CHRO effective October 1, 2018
Warren Thomson to retire as CIO and Chairman of Global Wealth and Asset Management effective February 28, 2019
Scott Hartz promoted to Chief Investment Officer
Paul Lorentz promoted to President and CEO, Global Wealth & Asset Management

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife today announced it has appointed Pamela Kimmet as Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Kimmet will oversee the Company's Human Resources function and provide leadership to the people and culture elements of the Company's transformation. The Company also announced that Warren Thomson has made the decision to retire as Manulife's Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of Global Wealth and Asset Management.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Ms. Kimmet's appointment is effective October 1, 2018, and she will report directly to Manulife President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Gori.

Ms. Kimmet is a world-class Human Resources leader who most recently served as the Chief Human Resources Officer of Cardinal Health, a healthcare services and products company with 50,000 employees in nearly 60 countries around the world. Ms. Kimmet has also served as a member of Manulife's Board of Directors since March 2016. She resigned from that role effective September 4, 2018. She previously led the HR function at a number of global organizations, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Bear, Stearns & Co. and Lucent Technologies, and held strategic HR roles at Citigroup and General Motors.

"Pam's vast experience across a variety of industries and geographies makes her the ideal leader to take on this important role," Mr. Gori said. "Building a high-performing team and culture is one of our five strategic priorities as we transform our Company into a digital, customer-centric market leader. Pam joins us at a critical time in our history, and her expertise in talent development and organizational change will be of great value as we work to achieve our bold people and culture ambitions."

Ms. Kimmet is a thought leader within the HR profession, serving as Chair of the HR Policy Association, and past Chair of the Association's Center for Executive Compensation. She also serves on the advisory boards for Cornell University's Center for Advanced Human Resources Studies, and the University of South Carolina's Center for Executive Succession. Ms. Kimmet was named a Fellow by the National Academy of Human Resources in 2009. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of Perspecta, a leading information systems and mission services provider to the U.S. government.

Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Thomson has announced his intention to retire effective February 28, 2019, following an extremely successful career with Manulife and John Hancock during which he made significant contributions to the Company's long-term success.

Paul Lorentz, who currently reports to Mr. Thomson with responsibility for Manulife's Global Wealth and Asset Management business, has been promoted to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Wealth and Asset Management effective March 1, 2019, and will report directly to Mr. Gori. Mr. Lorentz, who was appointed to his current role in October 2017, joined Manulife in 1993 and has delivered outstanding results in a variety of Wealth and Asset Management roles.

Scott Hartz has been promoted to the role of Chief Investment Officer effective March 1, 2019, and will also report directly to Mr. Gori. Mr. Hartz currently serves as Head of General Account Investments for Manulife, overseeing all U.S., Canadian and Asian general account investments, and has performed with excellence in this role. Mr. Hartz is also the Chief Investment Officer for John Hancock Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife.

"Paul and Scott are proven leaders who have built and maintained strong momentum across their mandates and teams," Mr. Gori said. "I'm confident they will continue to create significant value for our organization, our customers and our shareholders."

Spanning more than two decades, Mr. Thomson's tenure at Manulife has been marked by his focus on finding attractive growth opportunities with appropriate risk profiles. His innovative approach, coupled with a forward-looking view of clients' needs, helped make Manulife an international leader. Following his appointment as Chief Investment Officer in 2009, during the global financial crisis, Mr. Thomson led programs to de-risk the Company's equity and interest-rate risk exposures.

Mr. Thomson also oversaw the establishment and growth of Manulife Asset Management. Manulife Asset Management's assets under management grew from $94 billion in 2006 to $516 billion as of June 30, 2018. Mr. Thomson led the expansion of Manulife Asset Management into private assets, which saw the Company extend its investment offerings and bring its General Fund expertise in alternative asset classes to external investors.

As a leader, Mr. Thomson has a deep belief in the importance of diversity. He is a passionate advocate of gender diversity and an executive sponsor of Women in Capital Markets, who recognized him in 2016 as a "Champion of Change" for his role in encouraging the advancement of women.

"Warren has made numerous contributions across our global franchise. He is a trusted and respected leader, and he will leave a strong legacy," said Mr. Gori. "On behalf of the Board and Executive Leadership Team, we thank him and wish him all the best in retirement."

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2017, we had about 35,000 employees, 73,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 26 million customers. As of June 30, 2018, we had over $1.1 trillion (US$849 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $27.6 billion in 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.