John Hancock Funds, the mutual fund unit of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., has a new chairman, CEO and president. Effective immediately, James (Jamie) A. Shepardson, is stepping into the tripartite role. He will also be a corporate executive vice president.

Shepardson will report to John D. DesPrez III, senior executive vice president of John Hancock Wealth Management.

He replaces CEO Maureen Ford Goldfarb, who announced she was leaving after the completion of the Manulife/Hancock merger.

Shepardson was formerly president of retirement services at Hancock. In that position, he headed sales and marketing of annuity products.

His experience in that area comes from years of leading sales and distribution initiatives. Prior to joining Hancock, he worked at both MetLife and Equitable Distributors, Inc., a unit of AXA. Hancock officials say he has been credited "for the lion's share of the success of Equitable Distributors Inc. . . .in cracking third-party markets in the late-1990s."  

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