KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach^[1] - 17 October 2018 - Mark O'Dell, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Manulife Holdings Berhad (MHB) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Manulife Insurance Berhad in Malaysia has been conferred the Outstanding Leaders in Asia award by Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES Awards).

From left: Ms. Shanggari Balakrishnan, CEO of MORS Group, award recipient Mr Mark O'Dell, CEO of Manulife Malaysia and Mr. Luis Bueno Nieto, ACES Awards Jury.

Mark began his journey in Asia in 1994, joining Manulife in 2008 as the President and CEO of Manulife Taiwan and became Senior Vice President, South East Asia in November 2012, overseeing strong growth in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

He has served as Group CEO and Executive Director of MHB since January 2013, spearheading several significant milestones for Manulife Malaysia and its subsidiaries. Under his leadership, the acquisition of MAAKL Mutual Berhad (MAAKL) and the activation of the first exclusive bank partnership with Alliance Bank happened.

Then in 2017, MHB set up the subsidiary Manulife Insurance Labuan Limited (MILL) to cater to high net worth customers.

In the same year, MHB's corporate branding got a major boost with the naming rights for the Mass Rapid Transit station Manulife Semantan. This move, under Mark's guidance, strengthened Manulife's brand presence and provided much value to the business.

Strengthening MHB's history as an active and caring corporate citizen, Mark has partnered with a non-profit crowdfunding platform in a three-year contract. Since 2016, Manulife and its employees have been actively involved in various health and community-related initiatives. For this effort, Manulife Malaysia was awarded the CSR Malaysia Award 2018, Company of the Year in the Financial Services Category for Pioneering Community Health & Children Welfare Initiatives.

In winning this award, Mark said, "I am proud to be recognised by ACES for my body of work in Asia, spanning the past 24 years in 5 different countries. In particular because ACES promotes and recognises leaders who carry out significant CSR campaigns, demonstrate compassion for the community, recognise the importance of Human Resources as assets in addition to generating financial gains."

About Manulife Malaysia

Manulife Holdings Berhad is part of Canada-based Manulife Financial Corporation. Through its subsidiary companies, Manulife Malaysia offers an innovative range of financial protection, health and wealth management products and services to meet different customer needs. Manulife Malaysia currently serves the needs of over 300,000 policyholders and wealth management customers. Manulife Holdings Berhad has been listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia since 1984. As at 30 June 2018, its assets under management were over RM10 billion. Manulife Malaysia can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.my^[2].

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} manulife.com.my (www.manulife.com.my)