Manulife makes two senior appointments in Asia

Manulife has appointed Harshal Shah (pictured above) as chief marketing and experience design officer for Asia and Rahul Hora as president and CEO of Manulife Philippines.

Shah’s appointment will be effective on Oct. 17, while Hora’s took effect on Oct. 3.

Shah, based in Hong Kong, will become part of Manulife's Asia Executive Division Committee and will report to Damien Green, president and CEO, Asia, and Karen Leggett, global chief marketing officer. He will also be a member of the company's global leadership team.

Shah will lead Manulife's marketing, brand, digital, and customer experience across Asia. He will also oversee the ManulifeMOVE programme, and he will work closely with teams at global, regional, and market levels, including those in technology, operations and distribution.

Shah was most recently director of the distribution impact office at AIA in Singapore. He was also chief marketing officer for AIA Korea and led the customer experience and business transformation function for the AIA Group. Prior to AIA, Shah held leadership roles at Aegon and Citibank.

“We are taking transformational leaps to become the digital customer leader in our industry in Asia,” Green said. “Harshal's appointment will continue to drive the success of our Asia franchise, drawing on his strong track record of enhancing distribution through delivering impressive results in marketing, digital, and analytics.”

Hora (pictured directly above), as president and CEO of Manulife’s Philippine business, will also be part of the insurer’s global leadership team.

Hora joined Manulife from AXA, where he was most recently chief distribution officer for Asia. He spent almost 13 years with AXA in the Philippines, holding leadership roles such as chief agency officer, chief operations officer and chief executive officer. Prior to AXA, Hora was senior vice president at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance in India.

“We are pleased and excited to have Rahul join us to lead our next phase of growth in the Philippines, a key Southeast Asian market where we’ve been for 115 years,” said Sachin N. Shah, Manulife’s general manager for emerging markets. “Rahul’s track record of leadership and wealth of experience strengthens our execution and will accelerate helping more Filipinos live every day better.”