By Nivedita Balu and Arasu Kannagi Basil
(Reuters) -Manulife Financial said on Monday that its Asia head Phil Witherington will succeed CEO Roy Gori, who will retire next year after more than seven years at the helm of Canada’s biggest life insurer.
Gori, who became Manulife’s chief executive in 2017, will step down from his role effective May 8, 2025 but continue as an adviser through Aug. 31, 2025 to support the transition.
Witherington, who has been part of the company’s executive leadership team since 2017, is currently CEO of the Asia business. He had previously served as Manulife’s chief financial officer for five years.
“This news comes as a surprise to us as it was not clear to us that Gori would step down from his current role so soon,” RBC Capital analyst Darko Mihelic said.
Mihelic noted that Gori, 54, had only served for seven years at the top compared to the typical tenure for CEOs of financial services companies of 10 years or more.
Witherington, who has over 25 years of experience in insurance and financial services globally, spent a decade with accounting firm KPMG earlier in his career. He also worked with London-headquartered bank HSBC and Hong Kong-based insurer AIA for several years.
“As both our chief financial officer and now as CEO of the Asia segment he has consistently demonstrated the ability to navigate complexity, deliver on commitments and drive change,” Manulife board Chair Don Lindsay said in a statement.
Manulife has focused on shedding risk through a number of transactions that has helped free up capital for more stable, higher-return businesses.
At the same time, the company has prioritized Asia, a key market for Canadian insurers, where it expects half of its earnings to come from by 2027.
“We would not expect any dramatic changes to Manulife’s strategy,” Jefferies analyst John Aiken said.
Under Gori’s tenure, Manulife’s shares have risen 93% while peer Sun Life rose 90% and the broader Toronto Stock Exchange was up 60%.
Manulife’s shares were down 0.6% on Monday morning.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Bill Berkrot)
