Manulife Names Steve Finch Asia President and CEO
Former Chief Actuary to Succeed Phil Witherington Effective May 9th
March 18, 2025
Toronto and Hong Kong – Manulife announced that Steve Finch has been appointed President and CEO of Manulife Asia, effective May 9th. Mr. Finch succeeds Phil Witherington who has been appointed Manulife’s President and CEO, also effective May 9th.
Mr. Finch currently serves as Manulife’s Chief Actuary and has been a member of Manulife’s Executive Leadership team since 2016.
Mr. Finch has contributed significantly to Manulife’s transformation and financial performance, including through several historic transactions that validated the prudence of the company’s reserves, and supporting the transition to IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 accounting standards. He is a proven leader across both functional and commercial areas of Manulife’s business. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of John Hancock, Manulife’s US business, and prior to that, he served as the General Manager of the company’s US Life Insurance business, leading the business to be the market leader in life insurance sales. Mr. Finch has served in additional roles including in reinsurance, product development, and marketing across his 32-year tenure with Manulife. He is a graduate of Queen’s University and holds a B.ScH in Statistics. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.
“Steve has helped deliver our transformation and drive strong financial performance, reshaping our portfolio towards higher return and lower risk and validating the prudence of our reserves,” said Roy Gori, President and CEO of Manulife. “We have bold ambitions for Asia, and his deep appreciation of our business at a commercial and functional level, strong knowledge of our products and distribution channels across Asia, and passion for leading teams will help accelerate our growth agenda for this critical part of our business.”
“Steve is a proven leader who has developed our actuarial talent globally into one of the best teams in the industry,” said Mr. Witherington. “He’ll bring that same approach to supporting our team in Asia, helping us drive high-quality, sustainable growth and achieve our ambition to be the number one choice for customers and contribute more than 50 percent of Manulife’s core earnings – a goal we’re well on track to achieve.”
The successor for Chief Actuary will be announced in due course and Mr. Finch will work with that leader to ensure a seamless transition.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping our customers make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice and insurance for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2024, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 109,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 36 million customers. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.
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