Manulife Financial chief executive Donald Guloien to retire in September
Don Guloien, who took over as chief executive of Manulife Financial Corp. at a turbulent time in the insurer’s history, is retiring at the end of September.
On Thursday, the insurance giant also announced the unexpected departure of Craig Bromley, who was senior executive vice president and general manager of the company’s U.S. Division (John Hancock).
Guloien will be replaced as CEO by Roy Gori, 48, who was tapped in March to become president in early June. The Australian citizen, who previously worked for Citi for more than two decades, is currently vice president and general manager of Manulife’s Asia division. His appointment as CEO is subject to immigration approvals, Manulife said in a statement Thursday.
Guloien took over from longtime Manulife CEO Dominic D’Alessandro in 2009 as the company dealt with its exposure to equity markets — which had declined steeply during the financial crisis of 2008 — and the potential impact on the company’s book of guaranteed variable annuities.
“Donald’s eight-year tenure as CEO began in the aftermath of the most serious financial crisis in modern history, and at a moment when Manulife faced a number of difficult internal and external challenges,” Richard DeWolfe, chairman of the board, said in a statement.
“Today, the company has a strong, global footprint positioned for growth, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management and administration and $4 billion in core earnings in 2016 alone.”
Gori, who joined Ma nu life from Ci ti in early 2015, is to become responsible for leadership of Manulife’s Canadian, U.S., and Investment operations on June 5, in addition to Asia. He is to take over as CEO and join the board on Oct. 1.
The CEO transition is not the only executive shake-up at the insurer. The departure of Bromley from the company’s U.S. division John Hancock was “unexpected,” according to Barclays Capital Inc. analyst John Aiken. Bromley is to be replaced on an interim basis by Michael Doughty, president and general manager of John Hancock Insurance.
In a note to clients, Aiken said Guloien’s departure after a 36-year career is “disappointing.” But the analyst called Gori a “strong” replacement, and said the ample transition period suggests there won’t be any change to Manulife’s business or strategy in the near term.
The announcement of Guloien’s retirement came just months after Manulife turned the page on its post-crisis issues with a settlement of longstanding class action lawsuits in Ontario and Quebec. In January, the company announced a $69 million settlement of the suits, which related to the company’s disclosure of market price risk in segregated funds and variable annuity products. The settlement was made without any admission of wrongdoing or liability, Manulife said at the time.
At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, when stock markets plunged, Manulife slashed its dividend by half and issued more than $2 billion of stock to shore up capital.
A broad hedging program was implemented to reduce exposure to stock market swings, and, under Guloien, the company reined in sales of variable annuity products.