Manulife Financial Corporation : Manulife Holdings Berhad appoints Mark O'Dell as Group Chief Executive Officer... details

Kuala Lumpur- Manulife Holdings Berhad today announced that it has appointed Mark O'Dell as Group Chief Executive Officer effective January 18, 2013.

As the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. O'Dell is responsible for driving new strategies to create greater value for the group as well as grow the life insurance and wealth management businesses under Manulife Holdings Berhad.

"Mark's appointment comes at an important time for the company. His extensive experience in the life insurance industry coupled with demonstrated success in leading companies to new levels of growth will bring great benefits to our Malaysian operations," said Philip Hampden-Smith, Executive Vice President and General Manager of ManulifeASEAN Operations, Manulife Financial Asia Limited.

Originally from the United States of America, Mr. O'Dell has over 32 years of experience in the life insurance business. In his 18 years in Asia, he has held senior management roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and most recently, Taiwan. Mr. O'Dell has also played an integral role in the development of the life insurance industry. While in Singapore, Mr. O'Dell served as the President of the Life Insurance Association and the Financial Planning Association of Singapore respectively. In 2006, he was named the Personality of the Year by the Asia Insurance Review in recognition of his contributions to the insurance industry.

"Manulife Malaysia is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I am excited to be leading an organization that has such a strong heritage into its next chapter of growth. With our recently launched Private Retirement Scheme (PRS), a retirement solution, we are well-positioned to become a total financial solutions provider that can help Malaysians with their protection, wealth management and retirement needs," said Mr. O'Dell.

About Manulife Malaysia

Manulife Holdings Berhad is part of Canada-based Manulife Financial Corporation. Through its subsidiary companies, Manulife Malaysia offers an innovative range of financial protection, health and wealth management products and services to meet different customer needs. Manulife Malaysia currently serves the needs of over 300,000 policyholders and wealth management customers. Manulife Holdings Berhad has been listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia since 1984. As of September 30, 2012 its assets under management were over RM3.8 billion. Manulife Malaysia can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.my

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$515 billion (US$523 billion) as at September 30, 2012. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.