Manulife has appointed CEOs of its Canadian and Asia operations as part of changes to its executive leadership team.
Naveed Irshad succeeds Michael Doughty as CEO of the provider’s Canada segment ahead of Doughty’s retirement at the end of September after more than thirty years of service.
Irshad’s appointment is effective from 1 June, to enable a smooth transition with Doughty, the insurer said. Irshad is currently global head of inforce management and head of Manulife’s North American legacy business.
Irshad will be succeeded by Marc Costantini who will return to Manulife as global head of inforce management from 13 June.
Costantini rejoins Manulife from Munich Re where he is president and CEO for corporate development, strategy and digital solutions for the company’s North America life and health business.
Costantini previously spent more than 20 years with Manulife, holding a variety of executive leadership roles in corporate strategy, corporate development, finance, and the operating businesses.
Asia CEO
Elsewhere, Damien Green has been appointed as CEO for the Asia Segment, replacing Anil Wadhwani who has left the company.
Green is currently CEO of Manulife’s Hong Kong business; he joined Manulife in 2018 as the chief strategy and transformation officer for Asia. Green has held leadership roles across Asia with MetLife, AIA and AustralianSuper.
Pankaj Banerjee, chief distribution officer for Manulife Asia, will also serve as interim CEO of Manulife Hong Kong, pending completion of the appointment process for Green’s successor.
Irshad, Constantini, and Green will all report directly to Roy Gori, president and CEO of Manulife.
Gori said: “Today’s announcement underscores the depth of our leadership bench with the appointments of Naveed and Damien, as well as the attractiveness of our franchise with an accomplished individual like Marc returning.
“These outstanding leaders bring strong track records for delivering results and have a shared passion for building winning teams. I look forward to working with them as we continue to drive growth across our franchise and advance our digital, customer leadership efforts.”
