Manulife CEO Roy Gori to retire in May, Phil Witherington named next CEO

Author of the article:

The Canadian Press

Ian Bickis

Published Nov 18, 2024  •  2 minute read

Signage is seen on Manulife Financial Corp.'s office tower in Toronto on February 11, 2020. Photo by Cole Burston /THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Roy Gori, chief executive of Manulife Financial Corp., will be stepping down from the role next May after pushing through some significant changes at the insurance giant since taking the helm in 2017.

Phil Witherington, currently serving as chief executive of Manulife Asia, will take his place after he retires on May 8, the company said Monday.

Gori is leaving after leading the company through changes including off-loading riskier, lower-return assets and pushing heavily into digital.

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“We have transformed Manulife and we are, as a result of that, a radically different company today to the one we were in 2017,” Gori said at an investor day in Hong Kong in June.

Witherington will be moving from head of Asia to running the whole company at a time when it’s increasingly looking for growth in that region.

Gori emphasized at the investor day how some 1.5 billion people in Asia are expected to join the middle class by 2030, a trend that will help lead to more sales.

He leaves the company as it’s aiming to achieve core return on equity of at least 18 per cent by 2027, up from its current target of 15 per cent. It’s also increased its target to $22 billion for cash generated by its subsidiaries that is passed along to the parent company over the next three years, up from $18.4 billion for the past three.

The insurer has been working to boost returns as it shed assets with a low return on equity, including in its long-term care coverage.

In December, the company announced a $13-billion reinsurance deal that included what it called the largest long-term care component the insurance industry had ever seen. In March, it announced a deal to reinsure $5.8 billion of universal life reserves that it says was the largest deal of its kind in Canada.

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Reinsurance deals involve shifting the risk of existing insurance policies, and a chunk of their premiums, to another company to free up capital by reducing liabilities.

And while Manulife’s stock saw little gains over much of Gori’s tenure, over the past year it has climbed more than 70 per cent to trade around $45, cresting the previous high reached just before the global financial crisis.

Board chair Don Lindsay said in a statement that Gori transformed the company and delivered outstanding results, while Gori himself said the business has been de-risked and has become a digital leader under his tenure.

Gori will stay on as an adviser to the company until Aug. 31, 2025.

Gori joined Manulife in 2015 as chief executive for the company’s business in Asia before becoming CEO. Witherington served as chief financial officer of the company for five years before he took over running the insurer’s business in Asia.

Witherington is expected to continue in his current job as he works with Gori on transition planning and will name a successor in the coming months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:MFC)

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