Sebastian Pariath To Lead John Hancock Operations

BOSTON, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Financial, the US division of Manulife Financial Corporation, has named Sebastian Pariath as head of John Hancock Operations, effective January 1, 2013. In this new role, Mr. Pariath will report to Craig Bromley, President of John Hancock Financial.

Since January of 2012, Mr. Pariath has served as Vice President, Transformation Initiatives, Global Services, for Manulife Financial in Toronto, where he led a team charged with transforming the global information services organization into a global service-oriented team structure.  Prior to that, he served as Vice President & Managing Corporate Officer, Information Services & Insurance Operations, for Manulife Life Insurance Company, Ltd., in Tokyo.

"As Head of Operations, Sebastian will work closely with leaders of John Hancock's business units to leverage the enormous expertise that exists throughout our organization to create an environment of collaboration and innovation in our Operations areas," said Mr. Bromley.  "He will also work to establish more shared services and take advantage of economies of scale. In his work in Japan, Sebastian led improvements in Operations that resulted in key innovations for the front office and the business overall, and I am confident that his efforts on behalf of John Hancock will yield similar success."

Mr. Pariath joined Manulife Life Insurance Company, Ltd., in Tokyo, in May of 2005, as Chief Architect & Assistant Vice President, responsible for information technology operations.  Previously he worked at Prudential & Aoba Life Insurance Company, Ltd., in Tokyo, at the Union Bank of Switzerland in Singapore and Tokyo, and at Modi Olivetti in Mumbai. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) in Electronics from Mumbai University, India.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial

John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife Financial, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150 years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife Financial celebrates its 125^th anniversary. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$515 billion (US$523 billion) as at September 30, 2012. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial