Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd Sheriff bin Mohd Kassim, was appointed a director of the Company on 3 September 2004 and subsequently, Chairman of the Board on 13 October 2004.  He holds a B A (Honours) Economics degree from University Malaya and a Diploma in Economic Development from Oxford University, United Kingdom.  He also holds a M A Economics from Vanderbilt University, USA.   

Tan Sri was the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and past Director of United Engineers (Malaysia) Berhad and former Chairman of UEM Land Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Renong Berhad).  Prior to joining Khazanah Nasional Berhad as the Managing Director in 1994, he served as the Secretary General of Treasury, Ministry of Finance for 3 years. 

Tan Sri Dato' Mohd Sheriff is a non-independent non-executive Chairman of PLUS Expressways Berhad.  He is also the Chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, Deputy President of the Malaysian Economic Association and he serves as Non-executive Chairman of Projek Penyelenggaran Lebuhraya Berhad and Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad, Scientex Berhad (formerly known as Scientex Incorporated Berhad), Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, Intelligent Edge Technologies Berhad, Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd and Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Prolink Development Sdn Bhd).

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar Bin Zaini, aged 60, a Malaysian, was appointed to the Board on 5 July 2011.  He holds a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Laws & Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA; and a Bachelor of Arts with honours in Economics from University Kebangsaan Malaysia.

He began his career in the government service as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer in 1977.  He served the Malaysian Government at various ministries and departments and also the Perak State Government until he chose to take optional retirement from the government service in 1999.

He was Advisor and Chief Executive of Northern Corridor Implementation Authority from 2007 to 2009.  He was the Chairman of Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) from February 2004 to January 2010.  In February 2004, HRH The Sultan of Perak consented his appointment as Member of the Council of Elders to HRH Sultan of Perak.  He is a Member of the Perak Council of Islamic Religion and Malay Customs and the Perak State Islamic Economic Development Corporation.  He is also a Distinguished Fellow to the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and Adjunct Professor of Northern Corridor Economic Region Research Centre, Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar is a member of the Group Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors.  He is also a director on the Board of Manulife Insurance Berhad, Manulife Unit Trusts Berhad and Manulife Asset Management (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar sits on the Board of Plus Expressways Berhad, Dijaya Corporation Berhad and a few private limited companies.

Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani bin Nik Hassan Thani, aged 51, a Malaysian, was appointed to the Board on 5 July 2011.  Dato’ Dr Nik holds a Ph.D in Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and a Masters in Law from Queen Mary College, University of London. He read law at the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom.

Dato’ Dr Nik also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Syariah Law and Practice (with distinction) from the International Islamic University Malaysia. He is a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn and an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1985 and to the Malaysian Bar in 1986. He was a Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Harvard Law School in 1996 to 1997, and was formerly the Acting Dean/Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia. Dato’ Dr Nik is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (United Kingdom) and also a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA).

Currently, Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani is the Chairman and Senior Partner of Zaid Ibrahim & Co. (a member of ZICOlaw). Prior to joining Zaid Ibrahim & Co., Dato’ Dr Nik was with Baker & McKenzie (International Lawyers), Singapore.

Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani is a member of the Group Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors.  He is also a director on the Board of Manulife Insurance Berhad.

Datuk Abu Hassan bin Kendut, was appointed to the Board on 20 November 2001.  He was articled with Messrs Turquand Youngs & Co and qualified as an accountant in 1967.  He joined Malaysian Airline System Berhad in 1971 as its Accounts Manager and left in 1974 to join the practice of Messrs Coopers & Lybrand.  He retired as a Senior Partner of the firm in 1997. 

Datuk Abu Hassan sits on the Boards of Metrod (Malaysia) Berhad, I-Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad and several other private companies. He was also the former Chairman of United Engineers (Malaysia) Berhad, UEM World Berhad, UEM Builders Berhad and Cement Industries of Malaysia Berhad.

Mr Michael Chan Yui Lung, a British citizen, was appointed Director and Group Chief Executive Officer on 16 February 2009.  Mr Chan is a Fellow Member of the British Royal Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Associate Member of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a qualified member of the society of Registered Financial Planners, Hong Kong.  Mr Chan has also been a qualified member of the Life Insurance Management Research Association since 1997.

Mr Chan joined Manulife International Ltd, Hong Kong in 2000 as Vice President, Group Life and Health.  He was appointed as Vice President, Distribution in 2004, as head of Sales Operation of 450 Corporate Brokers and 3,600 tie in-house agents.  Prior to joining Manulife in 2000, Mr Chan served on the Boards of a number of insurance companies, and as an Accounting Officer in Management Accounting Branch, Treasury for Hong Kong Government.

Mr Robert Allen Cook, Canadian, was appointed to the Board on 4 October 2007.  He holds a Master Degree in Business Administration from the University of Toronto and a Bachelors’ Degree in Pure Mathematics from University of Calgary.

Mr Cook is Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, Asia, responsible for Manulife Financial’s insurance and wealth management operations in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Macau.  Previously, he was Executive Vice President, US Insurance Group with overall general management responsibility for the John Hancock Life Insurance, John Hancock Long-Term Care and John Hancock Financial Network business units.

Mr Cook has been involved in the Life Insurance Industry since 1978 and has held management positions in Manulife’s U.S., Canadian, International and corporate divisions.  His experience spans a number of areas including strategic planning, product management for insurance & annuities, sales and marketing.

Mr Cook is a representative of the Company’s largest shareholder, John Hancock International Holdings, Inc, whose ultimate holding company is Manulife Financial Corporation.

Mr Philip Hampden-Smith,  from the UK, was appointed to the Board on 6 January 2006.  Having worked in the UK, Europe and Asia, Mr Hampden-Smith has extensive experience in the financial services industry.  He is currently Executive Vice President and General Manager, South East Asia Operations, Manulife Financial.  Mr Hampden-Smith is responsible for Manulife’s six operations in the ASEAN area (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam).

Mr Hampden-Smith first joined Manulife Financial in Hong Kong in 1996 and concurrently held 2 positions - President & CEO of Manulife's Investment operations and Vice President, Marketing & Communications.  While in Hong Kong during this period, Mr Hampden-Smith was elected an Executive Board member of the Hong Kong Investments Funds Association and was a member of the Hong Kong Securities Institute.

Prior to his posting in Singapore, Mr Hampden-Smith was Vice President, Regional Operations, Asia, for Manulife Financial, and was responsible for overseeing the company's operations in the Philippines and Singapore as well as mutual fund development across Asia.  Prior to this, he was President Director of Manulife Indonesia for 3 years.  During his time in this position, Mr Hampden-Smith oversaw a four-fold increase in assets of Manulife Indonesia, the rapid development of Manulife Asset Management Indonesia and a significant acquisition that made Manulife Indonesia the leading pension provider in the country as well as Indonesia's leading insurer and fund manager.

GIANNI FIACCO

Non-executive director

BComm (University of Toronto), CA (ICAO Canada)

Mr Gianni Fiacco, aged 32, Canadian, was appointed to the Board on 22 May 2009.  He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto. 

Mr Fiacco is a Vice President and the Regional Controller, Asia, responsible for Manulife Financial’s financial reporting and analysis, business planning, implementing financial controls and ensuring compliance with policies in operations in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.    Previously, he was an Assistant Vice President, Manulife Financial Canada with responsibility for global accounting policy and the interpretation and implementation of company wide accounting policies in accordance with Canadian and U.S. regulatory and statutory requirements. 

Mr Fiacco has been involved in the Life Insurance Industry since 2005 and before joining Manulife, he was with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP working in their Audit and Assurance Services group.