Manulife Bank's Janine Barry named to WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada

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TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Janine Barry, AVP, Digital Engagement, Manulife Bank has been recognized by the Women's Executive Network (WXN) as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women. The award recognizes the professional achievements of strong leaders across the country.

Manulife is on a digital acceleration path, leveraging the powerful thought leadership it has across the organization to produce the best ideas. Barry has played an instrumental role in supporting the way Manulife Bank does business. She has been active in driving the organization's move to Agile delivery, pioneering and championing human-centered design (HCD), and acting as a thought leader to share her knowledge throughout the company.

"Janine is an innovator who advocated for HCD and Agile before the methods became mainstays in the industry, understanding their benefits early," said Rick Lunny, President and CEO, Manulife Bank. "Together with her team, Janine is fueling the future of high-level user experiences for customers and putting Manulife Bank at the forefront of digital banking."

On its path to become a digital, customer-centric leader, Manulife strives to accelerate ideas into execution by aiming to deliver quick, valuable and impactful experiences for customers and employees alike.

"Janine is focused on making decisions easier and lives better – for customers, colleagues and her community," says Mike Doughty, President & CEO, Manulife Canada. "She digs in to understand the needs and motivations of customers to improve their experiences with us, and challenges those around her to do the same. Never satisfied with 'the way things have always been done,' Janine meets with customers, listens to their calls, and shares their stories with her team to remind them of their impact. She sets a great example for all of us to follow."

Barry's role in moving the bank beyond its original advisor/broker-based distribution model through to new direct-to-customer digital capabilities, includes delivering on its top-rated app, which has a 4.8-star rating in the App Store, online account opening, and MAI - the first AI-driven chatbot in Canada Segment that helps customers with frequently asked questions, account balance inquiries, transaction searches and spending insights.

Manulife believes that diversity is not just a key enabler, but when done right, is a differentiator for its business. It drives innovation, collaboration and high-performance. Janine Barry is proof of talented innovators being recognized at Manulife. She has grown from manager to AVP in four years and was recognized as Manulife Bank's top candidate for the Take the Lead program, an initiative in which members of Manulife's Canadian Segment executive leadership team sponsor high-performing female AVPs.

Barry is an active member and supporter of the Global Women's Alliance Employee Resource Group at Manulife and sits on the board of trustees for St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo. She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Waterloo and a diploma in Internet and Electronic Commerce from Seneca College.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of September 30, 2020, we had $1.3 trillion (US$943 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.2 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation