Manulife Singapore has hired Khoo Kah Siang from Great Eastern Holdings to succeed departing CEO Naveed Irshad.

Khoo, who was most recently head of strategic business development and regional bancassurance at Great Eastern, will report to Anil Wadhwani, who was also recently appointed as president and CEO of Manulife Asia, according to a report by the Straits Times.

Khoo spent 12 years with Great Eastern, and was in charge of developing the firm’s life insurance business in Singapore through the agency, bancassurance, and financial advisory distribution channels. During his tenure, Great Eastern was able to gain significant ground in market share, reaching the top and putting the pressure on rival firm Manulife.

Irshad, meanwhile, is leaving Singapore to head Manulife’s legacy business in North America, with the appointment becoming effective on January 1, 2018. He joined Manulife Singapore in 2014 and, under his watch, grew the Singaporean business to become Manulife’s third-largest market in Asia, following Hong Kong and Japan.


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