As uncertainty regarding inflation and interest rates grips many of the world’s economies, Manulife president and Chief Executive Officer Roy Gori said his company is well-positioned due largely to geographic diversity.

The start of 2023 has been marked by volatility and uncertainty in markets, Gori said. As central banks around the world moved to raise interest rates to curb inflation, gross domestic product (GDP) growth will ultimately slow and lead to higher unemployment, he said. This uncertainty will persist until clarity emerges regarding “where inflation will land” and how high-interest rates will need to go, Gori said. 

“If I look at the current economic environment with uncertainty and the challenges associated with it, I think we're really well positioned as a company to navigate that,” he said. 

“Obviously, the geographic diversity of our franchise and the significant percentage of our business that is based in Asia helps us weather some of the challenges that we're seeing in North America with slower GDP growth.” 

In addition to geographic diversification, Gori said Manulife will benefit from efforts spanning the previous five years to make the business more resilient. He said part of this effort has been a focus on the company’s capital position as well as de-risking the business by reducing its sensitivity to equity markets. 


“I think if anything, what we've seen over the last three years is that the importance of what we do has intensified and therefore demand for our products and services has increased commensurate with,” said Gori.

TECHNOLOGY 

Another aspect that will help Manulife navigate the current environment is a focus on digitization within the organization to drive efficiency, Gori said. 

“We've invested a lot of money in that [technology]. In fact, over the last four or five years, we've invested more than a billion dollars, upgrading our capabilities and ultimately creating better experiences for customers,” he said.

Gori said the company benefits from advanced analytics and AI that can provide new ways to analyze data. He said that technology is changing Manulife’s industry, but historically the industry hasn’t done a “great job” embracing technology to connect with customers. 

However, he said Manulife will continue to invest in the technology space.

“But at the same time with these new technologies, it is really requiring us to create much greater security protocols so we're going to have confidence that information is secure and protected,” Gori said.