Manulife announced March 29 that Roy Gori, who currently heads the company’s Asia Division, has been appointed President, effective June 5. In his new role, Gori will have responsibility for Manulife's global operating businesses, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Donald Guloien.

As president, Gori will lead Manulife's Canadian, U.S. and Investment operations, in addition to Asia. He will also be responsible for developing and executing Manulife's business strategy, says Manulife in its announcement. Gori is presently based in Hong Kong, but will be moving to Toronto. Manulife adds that these changes are subject to immigration approvals.

Reporting directly to Gori will be Marianne Harrison, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, Canadian Division; Craig Bromley, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Division; the next Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, Asia Division, once appointed; and Warren Thomson, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Linda Mantia, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will report to Gori on Corporate Strategy and continue to report to Guloien on all of her other areas of responsibility.

Joined Manulife from Citi in early 2015

Gori joined Manulife from Citi in early 2015, where he served as Head of Consumer Banking, North Asia and Australia, and Regional Head of Retail Banking, Asia Pacific, which included responsibility for Citi's insurance and wealth management businesses. He has worked and lived in Sydney, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. He has an Economics and Finance degree from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from the University of Technology, Sydney.

An innovator and agent of change

"Roy is an enormously capable leader, an innovator and agent of change, and is very committed to customer centricity," Guloien said. "I am simply delighted Roy is taking on this significant role, leveraging his talent, expertise and collaborative instinct across all of our businesses, and very excited about the impact he will have on Manulife's future."

Gori will be taking on the role of president from Donald Guloien who remains CEO and leads the overall enterprise. Manulife spokesperson, Sean Pasternak told The Insurance and Investment Journal, “With Roy’s appointment, Donald will have more time to focus on external relationships, and to help Roy gain in-depth knowledge of Manulife’s North American businesses.”

No retirement plans announced

Pasternak says Guloien has not announced any plans for retirement. “He has been open about not planning to work until typical retirement age, and believes succession planning is one of the single most important areas of focus for a management team or a board of directors. Manulife has not announced a specific succession plan or timeline,” he underlined.