Manulife Asset Management Names Claude Chene as Global Distribution Head

New role to drive sales and relationship management activity for asset management globally

TORONTO, BOSTON, HONG KONG and LONDON, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management announced today that it has appointed Claude Chene as Global Head of Distribution, effective July 1, 2015. Based in London, England, Mr. Chene will report to Kai Sotorp, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management and Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management for Manulife.

In this position, a new role for the organization, Mr. Chene will join the firm's Executive Committee, and be responsible for creating the distribution vision and strategy, as well as overseeing sales and relationship management activity for Manulife Asset Management on a global basis.

"We are delighted to welcome Claude to Manulife Asset Management," said Mr. Sotorp. "He brings tremendous experience and accomplishments to the role and will play an integral part in further establishing and enhancing our brand as a premier asset manager across global markets. In past roles, he has demonstrated his ability to strengthen distribution teams. Claude's talent, intellect, and integrity complement our already strong and diverse management team.

"Expanding our distribution capability follows the build-out of our investment teams and Claude will, in addition to further building on our institutional distribution success and capabilities in Asia and North America, lead our institutional and wholesale expansion into Europe, Middle East and Latin American markets. He will also grow our financial institutions and sovereign wealth fund distribution capabilities."

Mr. Chene brings a wide range of experience, having worked with a range of investment capabilities across major distribution channels.

Reporting to Mr. Chene are the regional heads of institutional sales and relationship management in Asia, Canada, and the U.S., respectively, James Chen, Adam Neal and Frank Saeli; the global head of consultant relations, Brian Torrisi; and the global head of sales administration and support, Lauren Fleming.

Most recently, Mr. Chene spent almost three years as Global Head of Distribution and Board Member for Ignis Asset Management in London. Prior to that, he served for 13 years at Alliance Bernstein in a number of roles in New York and London, including, in London, as Chief Executive Officer, Europe, and Head of Institutional Sales. He is a graduate of Brown University with a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Economics.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing comprehensive asset management solutions for investors. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at March 31, 2015, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$383 billion (US$302 billion).

Manulife Asset Management's public markets units have investment expertise across a broad range of asset classes including public equity and fixed income, and asset allocation strategies.  Offices with full investment capabilities are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In addition, Manulife Asset Management has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. The public markets units of Manulife Asset Management also provide investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. John Hancock Asset Management and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management.

Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife

Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. We provide strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our customers' 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. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$821 billion (US$648 billion) as at March 31, 2015.

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

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SOURCE Manulife Asset Management