BOSTON, June 13, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock announced that Linda
Watters, Vice President, Government Relations, will retire on
August 31. Watters will remain as a
director on the John Hancock (USA)
Board and as a director on the John Hancock Trust
Company Board. Ken Ross, former Michigan financial and insurance regulator,
has been hired to succeed Watters, effective July 9. In
this role, Ross will be responsible for state legislative and
regulatory relations as well as John Hancock's relationship with
the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
"Since Linda joined John Hancock in 2009, we have
benefitted tremendously from her outstanding work
building our state government regulatory and legislative
affairs platform, acting as a strategic partner on our
leadership team and reporting on legislative and
regulatory issues to John Hancock and
Manulife management and boards," said James D. Gallagher, Executive Vice President and
General Counsel, Manulife. "We are so
pleased she is continuing her role on the boards of
the John Hancock life insurance companies and the
John Hancock Trust Company."
"At the same time, we are delighted to welcome
Ken and look forward to having him in this leadership role,"
said Gallagher. "His extensive experience working in the
financial serves sector in the political and regulatory arenas at
the state and national level will be an asset."
Ross has a broad range of financial service industry experience.
In 2008, he was appointed Commissioner, serving as the Chief
Financial Regulator for Michigan,
leading the agency of over 350 staff and a budget of over
$50 million during the financial
turmoil that upended economies around the globe. Prior to his
appointment, he spent five years in various executive positions
with the Office of Financial & Insurance Services. As
Commissioner, Ross served on numerous NAIC, CSBS and NASCUS working
groups and committees.
Ross most recently served as the President/COO of the Michigan
Credit Union League & Affiliates primarily responsible for the
association's affiliation efforts, federal and state advocacy
relationships and all association functions.
He served as Assistant General Counsel for Citizens Republic
Bancorp bank from 2011-2013, leading their Consumer Compliance
and CRA team along with helping negotiate and operationalize a DOJ
fair lending settlement agreement, which he administered for the
bank.
Ross holds a law degree, cum laude, from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and bachelor's
degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He
currently serves as a Commissioner for the Lansing (MI) Board of Water and Light and the
Lansing Financial Health Team.
About John Hancock and Manulife
John
Hancock is a division of Manulife
Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services
group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives
better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We
provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management
solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. Assets under
management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were
over $1.1 trillion (US$850 billion) as of March 31, 2018. Manulife Financial Corporation
trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK.
Manulife can be found at manulife.com.
One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports
approximately 10.7 million Americans with a broad range of
financial products, including life insurance, annuities,
investments, 401(k) plans, and college savings plans. We also offer
advice through Signator, a network of independent financial
advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at
johnhancock.com.
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SOURCE John Hancock