Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Tim Ramza as its first chief innovation officer (CIO), effective immediately.
Ramza, an executive with extensive experience in both financial services and technology, becomes a member of Manulife’s executive committee in the new role and reports to Donald Guloien, Manulife’s president and CEO.
“Manulife is operating in a rapidly evolving environment characterized by heightened consumer expectations and technology-driven innovation,” says Guloien in a statement. “As [CIO], Tim will provide thought leadership on disruptive trends and guide our corporate innovation efforts in support of our vision of helping customers with their biggest financial decisions.”
Ramza, who’s based out of Boston, also becomes chairman of Manulife’s Global Innovation Council. The council is comprised of Manulife employees from around the world and works to ensure that the company continues to evolve its culture and core competencies to stay ahead of competitive forces.
For the past two years, Ramza has been senior vice president, wealth management strategy and business development with Manulife’s U.S. division, John Hancock Financial. Prior to joining John Hancock, Ramza held various executive roles with Fidelity Investments, including senior vice president of technology product development for Fidelity’s family office services.
Before joining Fidelity, Ramza held various executive leadership roles at Advent Software Inc., a San Francisco-based financial services software company.
Ramza holds a bachelor of business administration degree in finance from the University of Texas.