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TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Frances Donald and Catherine Milum, from Manulife Investment Management (Manulife), have been recognized by the Women's Executive Network (WXN) as two of Canada's Most Powerful Women. The award recognizes the professional achievements of strong female leaders across the country.

Frances Donald, Chief Economist & Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, Manulife Investment Management

The youngest chief economist and one of only two women at a major Canadian financial institution, Frances Donald has become a key player in taking the firm to the next level as an investment leader. She is using a unique blend of insight and irreverence to help position Manulife as a fresh thinker and thought leader, not only in Canada, but around the globe.

"Frances is focused on moving Manulife's business forward. Because she has her finger on the pulse of the financial markets, her insightful outlook is making an impact on our investment decisions," said Paul Lorentz, President and CEO, Global Wealth and Asset Management, Manulife Investment Management.

As she forecasts global macro-economic and financial trends and their potential impacts, Frances approaches the market and the economy as more of a social scientist. She thinks about the people making the decisions behind them and has advised on many successful trading decisions by looking at things from a behavioural standpoint.

Frances has taken the reins on thought leadership, pioneering an approach that's interactive, digital and social media friendly – a departure from the typical way economics is presented.

Her candour, humour and incisive yet accessible analysis has made her a trusted voice and sought-after expert within Manulife and the media.

Catherine Milum, Head of Wealth Sales Canada for Manulife Investment Management

An industry veteran of 30 years, Catherine is a customer-obsessed sales leader who foresees future trends and embraces technology currently reshaping Canada's financial services industry.

Catherine's contribution to Manulife's financial performance is founded through the significant improvements she has made transforming her wholesaler team. In an industry dealing with technological disruption, Catherine rolled out an innovative sales model, which led to an increase in sales and a decrease in costs.

Catherine is a champion for female in leadership and spearheads initiatives to help promote women in the investment industry. She recently hosted Manulife's Women's Leadership Conference to attract, retain and promote more women in the Wealth and Asset Management industry. It became one of Manulife's most successful engagement and networking events.

"Catherine's strategic vision has propelled Manulife to the top of the list amongst independent competitors and peers. In Catherine's six years as Head of Wealth Sales in Canada, Manulife Investment Management has grown assets from $32 billion to $64 billion," said Lorentz. "She is always ready to push boundaries and focuses on understanding problems and developing a clear strategy for how to address them that inspires others to follow."  

Manulife cultivates a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees bring their authentic and whole selves to work, inspiring and enabling them to thrive personally and professionally to best serve our customers, business partners, and communities.

About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than 150 years of financial stewardship to partner with clients across our institutional, retail, and retirement businesses globally. Our specialist approach to money management includes the highly differentiated strategies of our fixed-income, specialized equity, multi-asset solutions, and private markets teams—along with access to specialized, unaffiliated asset managers from around the world through our multimanager model. Our personalized, data-driven approach to retirement is focused on delivering financial wellness in retirement plans of all sizes to help plan participants and members retire with dignity.

Headquartered in Toronto, we operate as Manulife Investment Management throughout the world, with the exception of the United States, where the retail and retirement businesses operate as John Hancock Investment Management and John Hancock, respectively; and in Asia and Canada, where the retirement business operates as Manulife. Manulife Investment Management had C$854 billion (USD$645 billion) in assets under management and administration as of September 30, 20191. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit our website at manulifeinvestmentmgt.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

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