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TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Manulife today announced that James D. Gallagher has been appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective immediately. Mr. Gallagher has been serving as Interim General Counsel since Oct. 20, and succeeds Stephen Sigurdson, who passed away last month. Mr. Gallagher becomes a permanent member of the Executive Committee, and will remain a member of Manulife's global leadership team.
"Jim's depth of global experience and thorough understanding of Manulife's businesses and strategy make him uniquely positioned to lead our global law, compliance, internal audit and corporate secretary teams," said Donald A. Guloien, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife. "Jim has made substantial contributions to the Company in a variety of roles. He stepped seamlessly into the position of Interim General Counsel and we are confident in his ability to take on the permanent leadership of this critical function."
Mr. Gallagher has held a variety of legal, compliance and other business support roles with Manulife in the U.S., Canada and globally over the course of his career. Most recently, he was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Manulife's U.S. Division, responsible for John Hancock's legal and compliance operations. As Chief Administrative Officer, he was also responsible for other functions, including John Hancock's government, public and community relations, as well as brand, communications and sports and events marketing.
Before taking on this role in 2012, he served as Executive Vice President and Global Compliance Chief for Manulife since 2005. Previously, he served as General Counsel to Manulife USA and was President of John Hancock Investment Trust.
Mr. Guloien added: "I would also like to acknowledge the important role that Steve Sigurdson played in Manulife's success. His numerous professional achievements at the Company are secondary only to the integrity and strength of his character, and all of us at Manulife miss him profoundly."
Mr. Sigurdson joined Manulife in 2010 as General Counsel for Canada, and in early 2011, he relocated to Hong Kong to serve as interim General Counsel for Asia in addition to his Canadian responsibilities. He became Manulife's General Counsel in 2014, and was also instrumental during Manulife's successful acquisition of Standard Life's Canadian operations, among other transactions.
Prior to joining Manulife in Boston in 1994, Mr. Gallagher was Vice President and Associate General Counsel for the Canadian Operations of Prudential Insurance Company of America and also served as Assistant General Counsel with Prudential at its Newark, NJ, headquarters.
Mr. Gallagher graduated with a B.A in Political Science from St. Michael's College, University of Toronto and earned a J.D. from Ohio Northern University's College of Law.
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 September 2016, we had $966 billion (US$736 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $24.4 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 manulife.com or johnhancock.com.
SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Media Contact: Sean B. Pasternak, Manulife, 416-852-2745, [email protected]
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