Phil Witherington was named to succeed Roy Gori as president and chief executive officer of Manulife Financial when the latter retires, effective May 8.
After he retires, Gori will serve as an adviser through Aug. 31 to support the transition, said a news release Nov. 18.
Witherington, who first joined Manulife Financial in 2014, currently serves as president and CEO-Manulife Asia.
Witherington will “continue in his current role as he works with Roy on transition planning and will name his successor in the coming months,” the news release said.
On Oct. 31, Manulife Financial cut about 2.5% of the workforce at its global wealth and asset management business.
Manulife had previously reported that its global wealth and asset management unit saw net inflows of C$100 million ($73.1 million) in the quarter ended June 30, a steep plunge from C$2.2 billion of net inflows in the year-ago quarter. As of June 30, the global wealth and asset management unit had assets under management and administration of about C$1.2 trillion, according to the firm's second-quarter earnings report.