Manulife names new president and CEO for Asia as Damien Green transitions on

Manulife has appointed Phil Witherington (pictured left) as its new president and CEO for Asia, effective from 1 July, succeeding Damien Green (pictured right). Witherington will report to Roy Gori, president and CEO of Manulife. 

The new appointment aims to bolster the company's Asia leadership team and accelerate Asia growth and financial performance globally. According to Manulife, when Witherington helmed the role of CFO, he helped the company transition to the new IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 accounting standards and contributed significantly to financial performance.

Prior to his appointment as Manulife's CFO in 2017, Witherington served as Manulife Asia's CFO. Before joining Manulife in 2014, Witherington was the Asia-Pacific head of finance for retail banking and wealth management at HSBC. He also held finance roles at AIA and was a financial services specialist at KPMG.

Meanwhile, Green, Witherington's predecessor, will now chair Manulife Financial Asia and work with Witherington to ensure a smooth transition. According to his LinkedIn, Green said: "It’s terrific to be handing on the day to day leadership to Witherington, who has been a friend and colleague for many years. At Manulife we have a deep talent bench and the most outstanding group of leaders which is again on display through this move."

Green joined Manulife as chief strategy and transformation officer of Asia in 2018, he was then promoted to CEO of Manulife HK in 2020. Most recently, he was the president and CEO of Manulife Asia. Green said: "It’s been a tremendous five years working for the most exciting insurance company in Manulife Asia, I am looking forward to the next five years of actively supporting our ambition to be the leading pan-Asian insurer."

On the other hand, Colin Simpson, CFO for the U.S. and general account, succeeds Witherington as Manulife's CFO, effective from 1 July. Simpson will report to Gori and join Manulife's executive leadership team. Simpson joined Manulife in November 2022 to help deliver on U.S. segment strategic priorities, including portfolio optimisation, expense efficiency and capital efficient growth. He joined Manulife from Aviva, where he held the position of interim group CFO, having previously served as CFO for Aviva Canada, and director of investor relations. Prior to his roles at Aviva, Simpson was vice president, equity research at Goldman Sachs International.

Don't miss: Manulife HK and Macau sees 26% YOY insurance sales growth in Q1 2023

Commenting on the appointments, Roy Gori, president and CEO of Manulife, said: " Witherington has helped strengthen our solid financial foundation as we enter the next stage of our journey. We have bold ambitions for Asia and Witherington 's deep appreciation of our team, market, and opportunity across the region will help accelerate our growth agenda for this critical part of our business. As our new chief financial officer, Simpson's experience and perspective will allow us to build on our solid foundation and continue to drive financial performance."

"I'd like to thank Green for his leadership of Manulife Asia this past year and our Hong Kong business before that. Throughout his tenure, his commitment to our customers, team and agents has helped secure our competitive position across the region," Gori added.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Manulife for more information.

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