Remembering Stephen Brown, the ‘Wizard of Oz’ who took John Hancock public

Would Mr. Brown— then an actuary overseeing individual life insurance products— move to the investment department, learn the ropes, and potentially take it over? A math major who joined Hancock straight out of college, Mr. Brown had no investment experience. Mr. Brown took her advice, betting that“ this would give me a real chance to run the company, "as he recalled in a…