Our people
Dr Khoo Kah Siang
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kah Siang is the President and CEO of Manulife Singapore and a member of Manulife's Asia Division Executive Committee. He is responsible for the overall development of Manulife's business operations in Singapore.
Kah Siang says, “Every day better is living out our mission authentically and passionately, to make lives better for our employees and customers.”
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Kah Siang has held multiple industry leadership roles in the past, including President of the Life Insurance Association, Board member of Singapore College of Insurance, and Member of MAS Financial Centre Advisory Panel. Kah Siang was conferred the prestigious Distinguished Fellow of IBF in 2015. Since 2019, he has been the chairperson of the inaugural Singapore Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee to elevate standards of culture and conduct in the insurance industry. Kah Siang is passionate about developing people including leaders in a value-based organisation to deliver innovative solutions and services to the customers, and strong returns to shareholders.
A Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, UK, Kah Siang holds a Doctorate in Statistics from the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Khoo Poh Huat
Chief Distribution Officer
Khoo Poh Huat is the Chief Distribution Officer of Manulife Singapore. In his role, Poh Huat is responsible for driving growth across all our FA channels, in particular Manulife Financial Advisers (MFA), Manulife Advisory Group (MAG), local FA partners and international brokers. He also leads our distribution transformation agenda to ensure we deliver on our digitization and distribution experience initiatives in the FA space.
Poh Huat believes that “Every day better is about giving our distributors an exceptional experience so that they can serve our customers better”
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Poh Huat is a seasoned life insurance professional with over 25 years of experience in progressive leadership roles in the UK and Singapore spanning life insurance consultancy, sales distribution, actuarial, finance and investments.
His most recent appointment was as Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Financial Advisers Singapore where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s operations and charting its strategic direction. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Appointed Actuary for Manulife Singapore.
Poh Huat is a graduate of the London School of Economics, UK and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, UK.
Yeo Yee Han
Chief Risk Officer
Yee Han is the Chief Risk Officer of Manulife Singapore. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing the overall risk profile of the company. This includes promoting a risk-awareness culture, establishing and maintaining an enterprise risk – management framework.
Yee Han believes that “Every day better is to have a positive work environment that embraces various cultures, ethnic beliefs, and diversity, where everyone could be comfortable to bring their true self to work. “
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She has more than 15 years of experience in the Insurance Industry and had worked in different functions ranging from Finance, Actuarial, Risk Management and Product. She has also worked in a mix of global, regional and local roles with other international insurers. Yee Han joined Manulife in late 2014 in Thailand as the CFO. She moved back to Singapore in 2016 to join Regional DBS Bancassurance team before taking up the current role. Yee Han holds a Bachelor of Business, specialising in Actuarial Science in Nanyang Technological University. She is also a Fellow of Institute of Actuaries, United Kingdom.
Jessie Cheing
Chief Human Resources Officer
Jessie Cheing is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Manulife Singapore. She is responsible for developing and securing the high-performing team priorities to achieve our bold ambition in Singapore. This includes attracting and developing diverse talent, and building an inclusive culture of continuous learning and recognition across the organisation.
Jessie feels that every day better is about empowering colleagues’ growth, and well-being, driving inclusive opportunities, and accelerating a sustainable future for our customers, partners and communities.
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Jessie holds a Master of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School and a Bachelor in Accounting and Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science. She has 20 years of human resources and transformation project experience in the financial services, consumer goods, automotive and pharmaceutical industries across Asia.
Jonathan Tan
Chief Legal and Compliance Officer
Jonathan Tan is the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Manulife Singapore. His main responsibility is to head and supervise the Legal, Compliance and Quality Assurance functions, working closely with the company’s management, other business units and regulators.
Jonathan believes that "Every Day Better comes about simply by doing what is right for the customers, the business and the people around us, and through a greater appreciation for the diverse cultures and preferences amongst us."
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A qualified lawyer, Jonathan has over 10 years of progressive senior leadership and regional APAC experience managing the Compliance function for multinational financial institutions, with a focus on AML and Regulatory Compliance. In his most recent appointment, he was the Assistant General Counsel (Asia) of a global insurance broker, heading the Legal and Compliance function for eight countries. Earlier in his career, Jonathan spent over a decade in law firms specialising in corporate legal work and commercial litigation. Jonathan holds a law degree from the National University of Singapore, and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore in 1996. He is also a certified Anti-Money Laundering specialist.
Darren Thompson
Chief Customer Officer and Chief Product Officer
Darren holds an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree (Physics & Mathematics) from Saint Mary's University in Canada as well as professional actuarial credentials from the United States and Canada. United States: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA); Canada: Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA).
According to Darren, "Every day better is about transforming our business to meet the evolving needs of our customers."
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Darren has 25 years of industry experience and has been with Manulife & John Hancock for 18 years in various roles of increasing responsibility: Product Development, Pricing, Asset Liability Management, Business Transformation, Wealth Management and Valuation & Financial Reporting. Before joining Manulife Singapore in the CPO role, Darren lead the VST project for US Insurance, overhauling financial reporting on $100B in general account reserves, leading to reduced reporting timelines with significant cost reductions as well as improving quality of results.
Felix Lai
Chief Financial Officer
Felix Lai is the Chief Financial Officer of Manulife Singapore. He is responsible for the actuarial and finance functions which includes financial reporting, strategic and business planning, capital management, asset-liability management, reinsurance management, product oversight, and merger and acquisition.
Felix says, "Every day better is about staying focused and working together to provide the best values and services for our customers."
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As a member of Manulife Singapore's Senior Management Team, Felix also plays an active part in the overall strategy and direction of Manulife Singapore's operation. Felix has over two decades of international insurance experience, with extensive experience in the Asia Region, particularly have been based in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. Felix joined Manulife in 2010 and was CFO of Manulife Taiwan and Manulife Vietnam prior to joining the Singapore operation. Felix holds a Master of Economics degree from the Macquarie University in Sydney and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. Felix is very excited to be part of a world class team helping make decisions easier and lives better for our customers.
Benedict Jones
Chief Transformation and Operations Officer
Benedict is responsible for leading organisation-wide strategic initiatives to advance Manulife Singapore’s technology, digitization and modernisation agenda to bring broader, deeper and more sustainable changes in systems, processes and ways of working. Ben leads the Operations function that is foundational to our business transformation efforts and also assumes the role of a change champion to lead the Customer Experience Transformation (CXT) journey, partnering across different functions in the organization to re-define and enable a holistic and exceptional customer and distributor experience.
Benedict believes that “digital transformation is key to meeting the evolving needs of our customers and making their every day better”.
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With a career spanning 25 years in financial services and consulting, Benedict has held senior leadership roles in Singapore, Australia as well as across Asia Pacific in the areas of Strategy, Distribution, Operations, Digital, Technology, Change & Transformation. Much of Benedict’s career has been with Allianz and AIG. He also has held roles at Insurance Australia Group and HIH Insurance.
Benedict is a Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ) and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holding a Masters of Business in Accounting & Finance from University of Technology, Sydney.
Sean Goh
Chief Bancassurance Officer
Sean is responsible in driving our bancassurance partnership with DBS to greater heights, and renewing/ establishing new partnerships for Manulife. Sean will also champion the transformation and digitisation efforts to strengthen our bancassurance capabilities; enabling best-in-class customer experiences with holistic health & protection, retirement and other financial solutions offerings to help more people make every day better.
According to Sean, "Every day better is about empowering and enabling our customers to future proof their aspirations and goals for a better tomorrow. It starts with being there for them at every step of their life journey."
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Prior to joining Manulife, Sean was Managing Director for the Life Strategic Business in AXA Singapore. He has over 19 years of progressive leadership experience in Singapore and Indonesia across multiple domains spanning Sales distribution, Business transformation, Product development, Claims and Underwriting.
Sean holds a Bachelor of Business from Monash University. He is also active in furthering the professionalism of the insurance industry having held various roles as an Executive Member for Life Insurance Association and as Member of Academic Board at the Singapore College of Insurance and Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee. As an ex-national Rugby player, Sean is passionate about creating environments in which diverse teams can thrive and grow.
Mark Czajkowski
Chief Marketing Officer
Mark leads the Marketing, Communications, Customer Experience, and Advanced Analytics capabilities for Manulife Singapore. He built and scaled Advanced Analytics, Customer Experience and Marketing functions for Manulife Japan to deliver an improved experience for our customers and distributors.
Mark believes that “Every day better is about having the mindset to challenge the status quo and doing better for our customers and partners consistently.”
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Mark has over 15 years of experience across multiple leadership roles in Singapore, Japan and Australia, spanning consulting, start-up and financial services industries. Prior to his roles at Manulife, Mark held numerous advisory positions with IBM Business Consulting Services and Macquarie Group.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from the University of Technology Sydney.
Corporate Governance
The Board of Directors
The Board is responsible for the stewardship of the Company. Directors are responsible for overseeing the management of the business and affairs of the Company. The Board meets at least three times annually. The members of the Board have ready access to management accounts and members of the management team at any time as per their request. Material transactions will be presented to the Board for approval as organized by the Company Secretary.
List of Members
- Steven Yeo (Chairperson)
- Dr Khoo Kah Siang
- Neo Ban Chuan
- Ian Tham
- Edwin Khoo
- Kenneth Rappold
The Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is responsible for assisting the Board of Directors in its oversight role with respect to the quality and integrity of financial information, the effectiveness of the Company's risk management and compliance practices, the external auditors' performance, the performance of the Company's internal audit function, and the Company's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
List of Members
- Neo Ban Chuan (Chairperson)
- Ian Tham
- Kenneth Rappold
The Board Risk Committee
The Board Risk Committee (BRC) assists the Board of Directors in reviewing the Company’s principal risks and the Company’s risk appetite, overseeing the Company’s management of its principal risks, monitoring the Company’s performance against its risk management framework, monitoring the Company’s risk exposure to ensure they are within the approved limits and applicable policies and regulations, and assessing the Company’s risk management action plans.
The BRC, comprising three independent directors (namely, Ian Tham Khean Hin (Chairperson), Neo Ban Chuan and Edwin Khoo), has the authority to conduct investigations into any matters within its scope of responsibility and obtain advice and assistance from outside legal, accounting, or other advisors, as necessary, to perform its duties and responsibilities.
Executive Committee
The Board considers that there is at present no need to establish an Executive Committee.
Nominating Committee
The Board of Manulife (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. has assumed the responsibility of the Nominating Committee locally. The members of our Board, as well as the key executives, are appointed after deliberation at the local Board level and such appointments are also based on the Manulife enterprise-wide guidelines provided by the Manulife Global Head Office at Toronto, Canada. As we are committed to ensuring the long-term success and protection of our policy holders, the Company only seeks to appoint fit and proper candidates who are qualified for the office to the Board.
Remuneration Committee
The Board of Manulife (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. has assumed the responsibility of the Remuneration Committee locally. The considerations on executive remuneration are based on our global human resource strategy, policies and framework as well as performance evaluation.
The Executive Investment Committee
The Executive Investment Committee is responsible for assisting the Board to review the investment strategies and processes in place for the Company’s investment activities that are the Company carried out on behalf of its policyholders, monitor the performance of such investment activities, and review and approve investment thresholds and limits in line with local regulations and Manulife enterprise-wide policies.
The Committee comprises a minimum 4 members and shall at all times include among its membership, the Chief Executive Officer, Appointed Actuary and the Head of Investments.
List of Members
- Dr Khoo Kah Siang (Chairperson)
- Felix Lai
- Ellen Leung
- Yeo Yee Han
- Thomas Lee
- Rachel Wong
The Executive Risk Committee
The Executive Risk Committee functions as a delegate of the Company’s senior management to manage the key risks in the day-to-day operations of the Company. The Executive Risk Committee comprises a minimum 7 members and shall at all time include among its members, the Chief Executive Officer, the Appointed Actuary, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Legal & Compliance Officer. Key risks or material risk trends will be escalated by the Executive Risk Committee to the attention of the Board Risk Committee.
List of Members
- The Executive Risk Committee comprises of all the Senior Leadership Team, the Appointed Actuary and the Pricing Officer.
