BOSTON, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Funds has appointed John G. Vrysen to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer, and has named Charles A. Rizzo Chief Financial Officer, following a board of trustees meeting in early June.
Mr. Vrysen, 51, will continue to report to Keith F. Hartstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Funds. Mr. Rizzo, 49, recently joined John Hancock from Goldman Sachs, where he was Vice President and Manager, Product Services - U.S. Registered Funds. He will report to Mr. Vrysen.
"Both John and Charles have a wealth of experience and are highly regarded in the industry," said Mr. Hartstein. "These senior level appointments reflect our commitment to strengthen our fund administration capabilities, recognizing the rapid growth and continued success of John Hancock Funds as we pursue our goal of becoming a top tier mutual fund company."
He added: "Since the beginning of 2005, we have launched 32 new funds, representing the highest number of new fund launches within the non- proprietary channel over this time period. Business momentum and sales growth remain strong as we've significantly expanded our sales force and diversified our product line. For these reasons, we expect to continue adding to our talented team over the near term."
In addition to their responsibilities for John Hancock Funds, both Mr. Vrysen and Mr. Rizzo have oversight responsibilities for the fund platforms supporting John Hancock's variable annuity, group pension, and variable life insurance products. The combined insurance products and mutual fund platforms represent 230 individual funds with assets of $120 billion, managed by more than 35 different sub-advisers.
Mr. Vrysen previously served as CFO for John Hancock Funds since 2005. He joined Manulife Financial, parent of John Hancock, in 1977 and has held a number of roles including Vice President and CFO for Manulife's US operations, and Vice President of operations for Wood Logan, the sales and marketing division of Manulife's variable annuity business. Following the 2004 merger with John Hancock, he became Vice President and General Manager for fixed annuities. Mr. Vrysen holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Rizzo worked at Deutsche Asset Management and led the fund treasury group in its oversight responsibilities for the Deutsche and Scudder Funds, while also serving as fund treasurer. He began his professional career at Coopers & Lybrand in Boston. Mr. Rizzo holds a B.S. from Bentley College.
About John Hancock Funds
The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $56 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at March 31, 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.jhfunds.com/.
John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$426 billion (US$370 billion) at March 31, 2007. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com/.
