Canadian financial services giant Manulife has named Mike Coyne as its next general counsel, replacing Jim Gallagher who is retiring from the company this month.
Coyne joins from global banking think tank The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), where he has been working as a senior fellow and litigation strategy advisor since last November. At Manulife, he will oversee all legal matters when he arrives on 1 September. He will join Manulife’s executive leadership team and report directly to Manulife president and CEO Phil Witherington.
Toronto-based Manulife is a global financial services business, specialising in investment, financial advice and retirement plan services. It operates in Canada, Asia and Europe, and in the US where it is primarily known as John Hancock, where it provides insurance and financial advice.
Witherington said: “Mike brings demonstrated ability to lead high-performing legal teams, navigate complexity, leverage transformative technology to optimise ways of working, and advise boards and executive leadership with strategic clarity and sound judgement.
“His global perspective and passion for building an inclusive culture, as well as sponsoring, developing and coaching colleagues, will be invaluable as we write Manulife’s next chapter.”
Prior to his time at the BPI, Coyne spent close to a decade as GC for the Americas at Japanese bank MUFG. He previously spent two decades at US banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co, where he was an associate GC, first as co-head of investment banking litigation and later as co-head of litigation.
Coyne started his career in private practice at legacy firm Rogers & Wells, which was absorbed by Clifford Chance in 2000.
Gallagher, meanwhile, is leaving Manulife after more than three decades, where he worked in a number of legal leadership roles across the business and its subsidiaries. He originally joined in 1994 from Prudential Insurance Company of America, where he was associate GC for its Canadian operations.
In other recent finance moves, earlier this month Farmer Mac hired Geraldine Hayhurst as chief legal officer, replacing long-time GC Stephen Mullery who is set to retire next year. And in July, Deutsche Bank announced plans to replace GC Friederike Rotsch with Simone Kämpfer, who is currently Freshfields’ white-collar defence practice head for Continental Europe.
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