HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced today that Bharat Kannan will join the company on March 16, 2015, as its Head of Employee Benefits for the Asia region. Kannan, who will become a member of MetLife’s Asia Leadership Group and its Global Employee Benefits Leadership Team, will be based out of Tokyo, Japan and will report to Christopher Townsend, President of Asia for MetLife. In this role, Kannan along with MetLife’s Employee Benefits team in Asia will be responsible for executing strategy, accelerating growth and continuing to build out MetLife’s employee benefits capabilities across the region. In addition, Kannan will support key relationships with clients and brokers and focus on expanding MetLife’s relationships with multinational businesses headquartered in Asia and outside the region.
“We’re delighted to have Bharat join our leadership team,” said Townsend. “The high-growth employee benefits market in Asia is very important for MetLife and Bharat’s appointment to this crucial position is yet another example of our commitment towards becoming a leading provider of employee benefits in Asia. He has been a highly successful figure in the employee benefits market for many years and brings not only a wealth of experience of the Asia market but also an acute focus on performance and client delivery. Bharat will build upon MetLife’s strong track record of helping employers develop strategies to more effectively manage and enhance their employees’ health and wellbeing.”
Maria Morris, Global Head of Employee Benefits for MetLife added, “As we embark on another significant growth year, ensuring that we have the right leadership in our employee benefits business will be critical to our continued success. Bharat brings with him a deep understanding of the employee benefits business, and we look forward to leveraging that knowledge to bring forth the best solutions and service to our customers across the region.”
Kannan joins MetLife from Aon where he spent over 11 years, most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer, Aon Insurance Brokers Malaysia. In his previous position at Aon, Kannan was Director, Aon Risk Solutions Japan leading their foreign local client division for five years, successfully executing a turnaround of the business and directly managing all large scale international relationships. Prior to that role at Aon, he worked in a number of senior management positions in Asia and the US, and is a veteran of the US Air Force having served on active duty from 1992 -1996.
Bharat holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Master of Science from DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois and attended INSEAD’s Management Acceleration Program.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
