Gretchen Garrigues appointed Global Chief Marketing Officer at Manulife

Former CMO of First Data to oversee Manulife and John Hancock Marketing & Communications

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, Aug. 8, 2016 /CNW/ - Manulife Financial Corporation (Manulife) today announced that Gretchen Garrigues has been appointed Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer.  Ms. Garrigues will be responsible for Manulife's global marketing and communications, focusing on global branding as well as ensuring that marketing strategies and the customer experience support global business growth.  In this role, Ms. Garrigues serves as a member of Manulife's Executive Committee, head of the Global Marketing Leadership Team, and reports to Paul Rooney, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

"We have embarked on a strategy that is far more customer-focused, which requires a senior leader who can build marketing capabilities in the organization and drive the development of a customer-centric culture across all functions," said Mr. Rooney.  "Gretchen's deep understanding of marketing, particularly in the areas of brand development, digital and analytics, coupled with her strong financial acumen, make her a great fit to drive Manulife's customer-centric strategy."

Ms. Garrigues joins Manulife following her recent role as First Data's Global Chief Marketing Officer where she led marketing efforts to deliver on First Data's 2015 IPO as well as being responsible for strengthening its brand, growing demand for its products and supporting its sales organization with digital tools to drive revenue. 

Ms. Garrigues has an extensive financial services background and leadership skills developed over a long career with GE Capital. Joining GE Capital in 1997 in the firm's Paris office, Ms. Garrigues' tenure at GE spanned sixteen years during which she held marketing leadership positions of increasing responsibility across a wide array of financial products and services, ranging from consumer finance, credit cards and private equity to equipment financing, commercial leasing and structured corporate lending.

Prior to joining GE Capital, Ms. Garrigues served as a Foreign Trade Officer for the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service based in Paris.  Fluent in English and French, Ms. Garrigues' appointment is effective immediately.

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions.  We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere.  We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions.  At the end of 2015, we had approximately 34,000 employees, 63,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers.  At the end of June 2016, we had $934 billion (US$718 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $25.4 billion in benefits, interest and other 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.  Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

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Media Contact: Graeme Harris, Manulife, 416 852-9476, [email protected]