anchored always in our values. The against the 2017 baseline, and at the new Chair of the Board, which became past several years have brought many same time expanded our customer effective in February 2023, in tandem challenges, from an unpredictable base from 26 million to 34 million with my retirement from Manulife. It macroeconomic environment to an customers worldwide. These results has been my pleasure and privilege to unprecedented global pandemic and have been delivered thanks to the serve as a member of your Board for its many impacts. They have navigated efforts of our 40,000 colleagues the past 30 years and as Chairman for each of these challenges with around the globe, who have taken the past five. Reflecting on all we have characteristic energy and focus and accountability for meeting and accomplished in that time, I am very continued to drive resilient results. achieving our targets, year in and year proud of our team and deeply grateful out, and who together have built solid for the opportunity to represent you. We are also grateful to each of our foundations for future success. I’m honoured to have passed the gavel 40,000 winning team members at to Don, under whose leadership I know Manulife, whose commitment to our Your Board’s activities the Board, and indeed our Company, customers, our values, and to each in 2022 will continue to thrive. other remains an inspiration. Your Board has remained focused Thank you We would also like to thank you, on providing oversight and guidance our fellow shareholders, for your to the leadership team, and we were With that in mind, and as Don has trust, support, and candid feedback. also energized by the opportunity taken over in February, we wanted to While the past few years have been to incorporate in-person sessions offer some shared words of thanks challenging, the Company’s ability to into our meeting cadence, having in closing. deliver through such times is proof met virtually for most of the previous positive that we have the right strategy, two years. As hoped last year, our First, we would like to thank Joseph the right team, and the right to win. hybrid meeting schedule has not only Caron, whose term as director will enabled optimal participation from end as of the end of our 2023 annual our directors, but also enhanced our meeting, for his 12 years of dedicated ability to attract talented directors service. We very much appreciate his from around the globe. many contributions to Manulife. We continued to make progress We would also like to recognize Roy John Cassaday Don Lindsay towards greater diversity on your Gori and the Executive Leadership Chairman Emeritus Chair of the Board Board, and we are proud to have Team for their steadfast leadership, increased our representation of Asia-domiciled directors in view of the importance of the region to our future growth ambitions. We are also proud to have maintained our aspiration of On behalf of the Board and Manulife’s shareholders, customers, gender parity among independent and colleagues, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to John for directors, with women representing seven of the 11 independent his 30 years of service. We have marked many milestones during directors nominated for election that time, and we are grateful for his unwavering leadership and at our upcoming annual meeting many contributions to the Company. John’s sense of duty, grace, of shareholders. insight, and wisdom have served the Company well, and he will Reflecting these efforts, we were be missed. We wish him the very best in his future endeavours. pleased to be ranked in the top four Looking to the future, I appreciate the trust you have placed in me by the Globe and Mail’s Report on and I am humbled to serve as the Chair of your Board as we work Business Board Games rankings for together to achieve our bold ambition. board governance in Canada. We are also proud of our robust Don Lindsay succession planning, including the Chair of the Board appointment of Don Lindsay as your 3