BOSTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Financial Services, the U.S. division of Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corporation, has named James R. Boyle as President. Mr. Boyle becomes the 21st President of John Hancock, which was founded in 1862. Mr. Boyle, 49, is also a member of Manulife's Executive and Management committees.



Mr. Boyle, who is based in Boston, directs all phases of John Hancock's operations. The company's core business areas include Life Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, Variable Annuities, 401(k) plans, Fixed Products and Mutual Funds, John Hancock Financial Network and Investment Management Services.



Before taking on his current role, Mr. Boyle served as president of John Hancock's U.S. Insurance division, and prior to that, he was president of the U.S. Wealth Management division. He serves on the Board of Directors of John Hancock Trust and John Hancock Funds. Mr. Boyle joined Manulife in 1992, having previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He graduated from Boston College with a B.S. in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Boyle resides in Hingham.




Mr. Boyle succeeds John D. DesPrez III as President. Mr. DesPrez was recently named Chief Operating Officer of Manulife with responsibility for the company's global Insurance and Wealth Management operations, which are organized into the U.S., Canada, and Asia & Japan divisions. Mr. DesPrez also serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock, and is based in Boston.



Reporting directly to Mr. Boyle are: Steve Finch, Executive Vice President, Life Insurance; Marianne Harrison, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Long-Term Care; Hugh McHaffie, Executive Vice President, Wealth Management; Robert Cassato, Executive Vice President, Distribution; Jonathan Chiel, Executive Vice President & General Counsel; Diana Scott, Senior Vice President, Human Resources; Lynne Patterson, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer; Peter Gordon, Senior Vice President, John Hancock Financial Network; and Allan Hackney, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer.



John Hancock holds industry-leading positions in its core businesses. John Hancock is number one in sales in total life insurance, variable life insurance, survivorship life insurance, small case 401(k) plans and group long-term care insurance; number two industry-wide in universal life insurance and individual long-term care insurance; a top 10 provider of variable annuities, college savings plans and fixed annuities; and a top 15 mutual fund firm.*



At year-end 2008, John Hancock accounted for 61 percent of Manulife's overall $65.8 billion in premiums and deposits, and 58 percent of the $330 billion in funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries.



About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. 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, fixed and variable 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 www.johnhancock.com.



Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife 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 Cdn$405 billion (US$322 billion) as at March 31, 2009.




Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.



* Total, Variable, Survivorship and Universal Life based on 100% of Recurring Premium plus 10% of Single Premium plus 10% of Excess Premium (LIMRA, 12/31/08 YTD); Group and Individual LTC based on new sales (LIMRA, 12/31/08); 401(k) based upon plans among insurance companies, mutual fund companies and banks (2008 CFO Magazine 401(k) Buyers Guide Study, May 2008); Variable Annuities based on sales within the non-proprietary broker/dealer segment (VARDS, 12/31/08 YTD); College Savings based on non-proprietary, multi-managed 529 plans ranked by assets (FRC, 9/30/08); Fixed Annuities based on fixed-rate sales for third quarter, inclusive of book value, immediate and structured settlements, excluding index and market value adjusted annuities (LIMRA, 9/30/08 YTD); and Mutual Funds based on new sales within the non-proprietary channel (Investment Company Institute, 9/30/08 YTD).





SOURCE John Hancock Financial