Manulife Asia names new chief communications officer

Manulife Asia has appointed Sabrina Cheung as its chief communications officer, according to the company in a statement. She will report jointly to Anne Hammer, Manulife’s global chief communications officer, and Phil Witherington, Manulife Asia’s president and CEO.

Based in Hong Kong, Cheung will lead strategic communications, incorporating media relations,
thought leadership, social media, colleague communications, content, and events, supporting
Manulife Asia across all the markets in which it operates.

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Prior to this, Cheung was chief brand and communications officer at AXA, Asia and Africa. During this time, she helped build AXA’s reputation through campaigns, media and partnership outreach, and community investment as a champion for sustainability and employee well-being.

As a seasoned professional, she previously also held global and regional leadership communications roles at Cigna International Markets, adidas Group, the Coca-Cola Company, and McCann WorldGroup

“Cheung's background across multiple disciplines, her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and her experience across financial services and consumer product goods will help us think differently about the impact we can have with our communications for our Asia business and the significant growth potential it represents for our global company,” said Hammer.

“We’re excited to have her join the team and look forward to the impact her leadership will have,” she added.

“Cheung's wealth of expertise will help connect and scale our story for impact and we’re looking forward to the contributions she will make across our team,” added Witherington.

Her appointment comes shortly after Witherington succeeded Damien Green as Manulife Asia’s president and CEO.

The new appointment was to help 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.

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