(Bloomberg) -- Manulife Financial Corp. said Chief Executive Officer Roy Gori will retire in May and be succeeded by Phil Witherington, head of the company’s Asia business.
Gori, who has been CEO of the Toronto-based insurer since 2017, will remain with the firm as an adviser through Aug. 31, 2025, Manulife said in a statement Monday.
Given he’s just 56 years old and has been CEO for less than a decade, Gori’s decision to leave came as a surprise to Royal Bank of Canada analyst Darko Mihelic, who called it a “young” retirement.
“In our view, Mr. Gori’s passion has not waned at all in recent years,” Mihelic wrote in a note to clients. He maintained an outperform rating on the stock and said the insurer is “on the road to a higher return on equity” and “solid” growth in earnings per share.
The Australian-born Gori told employees that he has “mixed emotions” about his retirement announcement, but is leaving at a time when the company has “tremendous momentum.”
“I have always known that for me these would be the conditions under which I wanted to hand the reins to Manulife’s next leader,” Gori said in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. He added that he plans to spend more time with his family and pursuing other passions. “And I’ll focus on mentoring the next generation of business leaders and innovators, investing in health and longevity, which is a personal passion of mine, and philanthropy.”
Witherington, 47, has been on Manulife’s executive leadership team since 2017, when he became chief financial officer, a role he held for five years before his appointment as CEO of the firm’s fast-growing Asia division. After earlier stints with HSBC Holdings Plc, Asian insurance company AIA Group Ltd. and KPMG LLP, he joined the company in 2014 as CFO of Manulife Asia.
The company’s board was unanimous in its support for Witherington’s appointment, Chair Don Lindsay said in the statement. Manulife has yet to name his successor as CEO of the Asia business.
Gori’s tenure as CEO has been marked by an emphasis on derisking the business. Manulife completed two significant reinsurance deals over the past year to offload some of its less-profitable assets, particularly in the long-term care space, and its shares have benefited from the moves.
Manulife stock surged to an all-time high earlier this month after it reported third-quarter core earnings per share that beat analysts’ estimates, aided in part by a tax benefit.
The company’s shares were down 0.4% to C$45.86 at 11:19 a.m. in Toronto.
(Updates with analyst comment, Gori comments from memo, shares starting in third paragraph.)
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