One of the Manulife offices on Bloor Street East.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
Manulife Financial Corp. is bringing in a new leader in wealth and asset management to cement the company's commitment to growing its business globally in those areas.
Kai Sotorp joins as chief executive officer of Manulife Asset Management and global head of wealth and asset management. It is a new position for the company, and Mr. Sotorp will work with existing management in this role. His key responsibility will be to help Manulife extend its operations around the world.
Mr. Sotorp already has extensive experience in Asia, one of Manulife's targeted regions for building both its insurance and wealth businesses. He most recently worked as the Asia Pacific CEO of UBS Global Asset Management where he oversaw the management of $120-billion (U.S.) in assets.
Before that, Mr. Sotorp worked at the asset management arm of UBS for 11 years in other positions in the U.S. and in Asia.
This new leadership role had been held on an interim basis by Warren Thompson, senior executive vice president and chair of Manulife Asset Management. He praised Mr. Sotorp's experience in the Asia region, and said Mr. Sotorp's hiring demonstrates the commitment that Manulife executives have talked about, in terms of building the company's wealth and asset management business. Mr. Thompson said the search for a suitable leader took about four months.
Mr. Sotorp is currently based in Hong Kong, but he will move to Toronto to assume his new role. The appointment will take effect on July 1.
Manulife Asset Management has $298-billion (Canadian) in retail and institutional assets under management.