Manulife Asset Management Private Markets Announces Three Senior Appointments

 - Jennifer S. Lundmark to be Head of Real Estate Fundraising

 - Kenneth Pogrin named Global Head of Business Development and Chief Operating Officer

 - Sahezad Pardhan named Global Chief Financial Officer

TORONTO and BOSTON, June 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Asset Management Private Markets, the private asset management arm of Manulife (TSX, NYSE: MFC), today announced three senior appointments. Jenn Lundmark was named Head of Real Estate Fundraising, effective June 8, and Ken Pogrin was named Global Head of Business Development and Chief Operating Officer, effective June 15. Ms. Lundmark and Mr. Pogrin are Senior Managing Directors reporting to Kevin J.E. Adolphe, President & CEO, Manulife Asset Management Private Markets and Manulife Real Estate. Sahezad Pardhan, also a Senior Managing Director, was named Global Chief Financial Officer, effective April  20, reporting jointly to Mr. Adolphe and Tim Deacon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Manulife's Investment Division. All three positions are newly created roles for the organization.

"We are pleased to announce these key hires, rounding out our senior management team," said Mr. Adolphe. "Since the launch of Private Markets a year and a half ago, we have experienced good traction in the marketplace, laying the foundation for the growth of our business."

"With our goal of growing our private asset management business significantly over the next five years, Ken's contributions to strategy will be of critical importance, and Jenn's role will be to expand relationships with major real estate investors across a wide range of global markets. Sahezad's role in providing financial leadership, decision support and value added financial reporting and analysis will be key to making strategic decisions as we grow our business," he added.

As Global Head of Real Estate Fundraising, Ms. Lundmark will drive Manulife Asset Management Private Markets' fundraising in real estate. She will direct a full range of activities related to the raising of equity capital. Most recently, Ms. Lundmark served as Director, Marketing and Client Service, for American Realty Advisors in Chicago, for the past 6 years. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs in Chicago, where she was a Vice President in the Investment Management Division, in institutional sales and corporate cash and global liquidity sales roles. She holds a BSc from Miami University of Ohio.

In his new role, Mr. Pogrin will oversee the strategic rollout of the Private Markets business, direct product development across all asset classes, and lead M&A activities for the business. Most recently, he was Senior Managing Director & Chief Counsel for Manulife Asset Management in North America and Private Markets globally, leading a team of lawyers in Boston and Toronto focusing on asset management, real estate and other private funds, private equity and junior capital, and energy. Prior to joining Manulife in 2007, Mr. Pogrin was a Partner in the Corporate Department of Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto, and before that he practiced corporate and securities law with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York.  He is a member of the bars of New York and Ontario. Mr. Pogrin holds a BA  from the University of Toronto and a JD from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.

As Chief Financial Officer for Private Markets, Mr. Pardhan will be accountable for completing the design, development and implementation of a world class finance function to support the growth of Private Markets. He will work closely with the Private Markets businesses in providing financial leadership, setting strategic priorities and driving new initiatives including a focus on third party capital growth. Mr. Pardhan joins the organization from Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of OMERS pension fund, where he held progressively senior roles in finance, strategy and risk, most recently as Vice President, Strategy and Risk.  Prior to this, he was in the transaction advisory and corporate finance practice of a leading professional services firm. Sahezad is a graduate of the University of Waterloo where he obtained both his Bachelors and Masters degrees and holds CPA, CA and CF professional designations.

About Manulife Asset Management Private Markets

Manulife Asset Management Private Markets has investment expertise in several private asset classes, including commercial real estate, timberland and farmland, biomass renewable energy and oil and gas. Manulife Asset Management Private Markets also partners with Manulife's specialized private asset investment teams to invest in private placement debt, commercial mortgages, private equity and mezzanine debt. Hancock Natural Resources Group, Manulife Real Estate, John Hancock Real Estate, NAL Resources, Regional Power, Manulife Capital, and Hancock Capital Management are units of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets.  As at March 31, 2015, Manulife's assets under management in private asset classes were C$98 billion (US$77 billion), including assets managed by and for Manulife's general fund and external clients.

Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com/PrivateMarkets.

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). 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 Private Markets