Richard Payette appointed President & CEO, Manulife Quebec

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC  SEHK: 945

TORONTO, Sept. 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Manulife Financial Corporation (Manulife) today announced that Richard Payette has been appointed President and CEO, Manulife Quebec.  This is Manulife's leading position for Quebec, and Mr. Payette will be responsible for leading the development, implementation and execution of the Quebec strategy to advance Manulife's position and support the Company's mission and vision in Quebec.

In this role, Mr. Payette serves as a member of Manulife's Canadian Division Executive Management Team, and the Global Leadership Team, and reports to Marianne Harrison, President and CEO, Manulife Canada.

"Manulife has a substantial business in Quebec and Richard's strong business and community relationships will help further increase Manulife's presence, visibility and impact in the province," said Ms. Harrison.  "Richard will provide strategic direction to support the growth of all Manulife's business lines in Quebec, and will represent the Company in the community and the industry for Manulife in Quebec."

Mr. Payette is a well-respected leader and recognized advisor and strategist with more than 30 years of experience in business management, transformation, leadership and mergers and acquisitions. From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Payette held several senior leadership positions at accounting, tax and advisory firm BDO. Most recently as CEO for the Americas Region for BDO International, he led and implemented strategic initiatives, covering Canada, USA, Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, he was part of the Global Leadership team of BDO International and worked on developing and implementing their international strategy.

Prior to BDO, Richard was President and Chief Executive Officer at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, an audit, tax and advisory firm. There he set the firm's development and management strategies contributing to the organization's expansion and growth.

Mr. Payette holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Écoles des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal. He is a Fellow and member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec as well as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants.

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

Image with caption: "Richard Payette appointed President & CEO, Manulife Quebec (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160914_C5211_PHOTO_EN_771774.jpg

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