John Hancock has been aggressively expanding its wholesale distribution. Since the beginning of the year, the firm has added a dozen wholesalers, bringing the total up to 40. The expansion comes as the firm embraces multi-channel distribution.

"We're shrinking territories everywhere," said Keith Hartstein, senior vice president of sales and marketing. "They're all multi-channel territories. It's new that it's a complete embracement of the multi-channel territory."

Hartstein said the only exception is John Farrell, who covers only planners in Long Island and the New York City area. Harstein said the area is dense enough to support a single-channel wholesaler without danger of dilution. Farrell most recently worked outside the financial services industry as a chief financial officer.

As part of the expansion, Hartstein has three managers heading up four newly-established divisions: Northeast, Central, South, and West. When funding permits, he plans to fill the remaining spot. Furthermore, the firm still has two open wholesaler positions: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi; and Illinois and Iowa.

"I've created four divisions," he said. "I couldn't get the budget permission to hire for all four divisions right now, so [Art Creel] will handle the Central and Northeastern divisions."

Creel replaces Lou Holland, formerly head of the Central division, who left to become head of sales and promotions at Chicago-based John Nuveen.

Carolyn Grainey was promoted from wholesaler to divisional sales manager of the Western division, where she oversees ten wholesalers.

Jim Hickey has been hired as the Southern Division sales manager. Hickey came from Los Angeles-based Transamerica, where he was the national sales manager.

So far, Hancock has hired on four new wholesalers:

• Dennis McDonald, who came from Jersey City, New Jersey-based Lord Abbett, is now covering San Diego County in Hawaii.
  
• Jennifer Zatt, now in Orange County, California, came from Chase.
  
• Diana Rossetti, who came from Merrill Lynch, covers the valley north to Fresno-Bakersfield over to the coast in California.
  
• Bill Friebel, in Missouri and Kansas, came from the Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC), in Houston, Texas.
  

In addition, the firm promoted eight people from its inside sales desk:

• Pete Deavan, in the State of Virginia
  
• Eric Kellar, in the Florida panhandle, Southern Georgia, and Eastern South Carolina
  
• Murad Nasir, in Ohio and Northern Ohio
  
• Kiva Leatherman, in Southern Ohio and Kentucky
  
• Ryan Boden in Northern Los Angeles
  
• Dave Nash in Southern Los Angeles
  
• Steve Ruck, in Minnesota

 

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