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Investing millions of dollars in technology before the coronavirus pandemic took hold is helping Manulife Financial Corp. weather the crisis, chief executive Roy Gori said.
“It’s phenomenal we’ve been able to continue to operate and serve customers,” he said, adding that sales haven’t lost much ground because the technology investments simplified the “pivot” to employees working from home.
“It’s a challenging environment,” Gori acknowledged, adding that in addition to some $600 million invested in technology that is now allowing employees to connect digitally with customers, Manulife’s geographic diversification in Canada, the United States, and Asia has helped offset some of the “headwinds” this year.
Although no country seems able to escape COVID-19, not all of them are affected to the same extent or at the same time, he said. Asia, for example, was the first to experience lockdowns but has largely moved out of them. Meanwhile, Canada and the United States, which locked down later, have opened up at different rates and times.
