Michael Doughty, Manulife’s current CEO, Canada Segment, has decided to retire at the end of September, after more than 30 years of service, said the company in a May 24 statement. Naveed Irshad has been tapped as his successor.
"Mike is a tremendous leader who embodies our values, pursues excellence every day, and does it with a deep sense of care for our colleagues, customers, and communities," said Roy Gori, President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife. "As he embarks upon this next chapter, he does so with our deep gratitude for his many contributions, and our very best wishes."
Irshad’s appointment as CEO, Canada Segment, will be effective June 1, 2022, to enable a smooth transition with Doughty, says the company. He is currently Global Head of Inforce Management and Head of Manulife's North American Legacy Business, “where he has successfully led initiatives that have released more than 8 billion dollars in capital, including the recent U.S. variable annuity reinsurance transaction,” says the company. Prior to his current role, Irshad was President & CEO of Manulife Singapore. He has held a variety of roles across general management, product development, finance, reinsurance, and risk management during his thirty years in the industry.
Manulife has also announced other executive changes. Marc Costantini will return to Manulife as Global Head of Inforce Management, effective June 13. He rejoins Manulife from Munich Re where he is President & CEO for Corporate Development, Strategy and Digital Solutions for the company's North America Life & Health business. Prior to joining Munich Re, he was EVP, Commercial and Government Markets for Guardian, after having been the company's CFO when he joined in 2014. Previously, Costantini spent more than twenty years with Manulife, holding a variety of executive leadership roles in Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development, Finance, and the operating businesses.
New CEO for Asia Segment
Damien Green has been appointed as CEO, Asia Segment, replacing Anil Wadhwani who has left the company. Green is currently CEO of Manulife's Hong Kong business; he joined Manulife in 2018 as the Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer for Asia. Pankaj Banerjee, Chief Distribution Officer for Manulife Asia, will serve as interim CEO, Manulife Hong Kong, pending completion of the appointment process for Green's successor.
Irshad, Constantini, and Green will report directly to Roy Gori.
"Today's announcement underscores the depth of our leadership bench with the appointments of Naveed and Damien, as well as the attractiveness of our franchise with an accomplished individual like Marc returning," stated Gori. "These outstanding leaders bring strong track records for delivering results and have a shared passion for building winning teams. I look forward to working with them as we continue to drive growth across our franchise and advance our digital, customer leadership efforts."
New global head of retirement
In a separate statement, Manulife Investment Management announced that Aimee DeCamillo has been appointed global head of retirement effective May 23. In this role, she will be “accountable for the strategy, growth, and overall success of the organization's global retirement business,” says the company. She reports to Paul Lorentz, president and CEO, Manulife Investment Management and is based in Boston.
DeCamillo previously served as chief commercial officer on the executive leadership team at Jackson Financial, a life insurance and annuity company. Prior to that role, Aimee was president and head of retirement plan services for U.S.-based asset manager, T. Rowe Price. She also worked in various leadership roles at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.
