Yearly Archive: 2009

The question I get asked the most (after what’s Dominic D’Alessandro really like) is this: Is Manulife safe? The answer is a resounding yes. All life insurance policies, annuities, and other products are hale and hearty. No policy holder or client needs to worry. The fact that Manulife this week raised $350 million in a preferred share issue (announced at $250 million and increased because of demand) is further proof that investors have confidence in the company. The preferred issue pays 5.6 per cent, a nice rate when GICs are in the 2 per cent range. Manulife’s dilemma was never...

Part of the joy of finishing a new book is the free time available. Eighteen months of 14-hour days researching/writing/editing are suddenly over. The book is published. Now what? The publicity tour, that’s what. Many authors complain about having to do publicity. Not me. What’s wrong with talking about your baby, telling favorite anecdotes, and celebrating its very existence? To be sure, many of the interviewers at newspapers and broadcast outlets haven’t read the book. Just as the interview is about to start, they lean in and whisper, “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet....

The first executive appointment under new management at Manulife bespeaks a departure from the past. David Paterson, the face of General Motors in Canada as the automaker’s main spokesperson, will become responsible for public affairs at Manulife on June 1. As such, Paterson will come in over Jennifer Rowe, vice president, corporate affairs. Rowe will focus on employee communications and engagement. Interesting that new Manulife CEO Donald Guloien, who replaced Dominic D’Alessandro just last week, would pick public affairs as the first place to make his mark. To me, this means the beginning of the shift in the corporate culture...

As Dominic D’Alessandro heads into retirement, he is being honored at various celebrations. Last Wednesday, the evening before the annual meeting, D’Alessandro was feted at a dinner attended by senior management, the board of directors, and the forty-eight Stars of Excellence, the top sales performers from around the world. As a parting gift, D’Alessandro received a maquette of a portion of the Community sculpture that is featured on the outside back cover of my book. At the annual meeting itself, an occasion he described as “bittersweet,” D’Alessandro was given a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Not only...

In case you missed it, I appeared on Business News Network this afternoon as part of the publicity campaign for my new book. The interview opens with a brief clip from the interview with Dominic D’Alessandro who appeared on Howard Green’s Headline show later in the day. Both D’Alessandro and Green had complimentary things to say about the book. Here’s the link.

Yesterday was pub date, publication date, of my new book, the day when traditionally a new book is widely available for sale. Indeed, in addition to Amazon.ca “Manulife” is now offered at the Chapters.Indigo online site for 34% off list. How can you resist? One click and it’s yours. Online reviews welcome!

Books are now available in some stores as well as online at Amazon.ca so just click on “Buy this book” below the cover image to buy copies at a 37 per cent discount off the suggested list price. Official publication date is May 5 and all book stores should have inventory by then. Manulife’s annual meeting, when Dominic D’Alessandro steps down as CEO, will be held Thursday May 7.

As my new book heads for bookstore shelves across Canada, I’m happy to report that the subject likes the work. “I think it reads like a good story. You were fair to everybody,” Manulife CEO Dominic D’Alessandro told me by phone after reading the book. “Events were faithfully described.” As an author, you want to get things right, particularly when writing about business, where misinformation can send stock prices plummeting and poor research can destroy professional reputations. When I dropped off an early copy of the book last week, D’Alessandro was his usual effervescent self during our twenty-minute conversation. Topics...