Melissa Henson, Manulife Philippines’ Chief Marketing Officer, is among the top 50 most influential and purposeful marketers honored on Campaign Asia’s 2022 Asia-Pacific Power List.
As the only Filipino on the list, she was recognized for leading the local arm of global financial services provider Manulife on its various integrated marketing initiatives for its customers and communities during a time of crisis.
“Our goal at Manulife has always been to help our customers understand the importance of financial security and life protection so they can live every day better. I am privileged to lead a great team who works hard to achieve our goals, and is focused on gaining deeper insights into our customers, so we can deliver strategies that enable us to respond to Filipinos’ evolving needs and priorities,” Henson shared.
Thought leadership, product innovation and digital transformation
As the pandemic heightened the importance of health and wellness, Manulife commissioned research studies to understand Filipinos’ concerns and challenges amid COVID-19. Through its Asia Care Survey, where over 500 respondents were from the Philippines, Filipino respondents revealed they have taken greater interest in their physical and financial well-being as a result of the pandemic. This insight informed the strategy behind Manulife’s HealthFlex, an insurance solution that offers Filipinos the flexibility to choose the health coverage they need. HealthFlex was awarded New Insurance Product of the Year at the 6th Insurance Asia Awards (2021).
Inclusivity and CSR
Henson is also the Philippine lead of Manulife’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, where she helps steer the direction towards building a supportive, inclusive and collaborative workplace, by harnessing the power of allyship so employees can understand one another better and lift each other up.
Furthermore, Henson led the creation and expansion of Manulife’s award-winning financial literacy program Peso Smart, which teaches the importance of saving, budgeting and investing to public elementary school students. What started as an annual face-to-face program taught by Manulife volunteer employees in 2017 was redesigned to address the demands of remote learning. Through Peso Smart x RecoveREADS, in partnership with Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF), the program has been extended to university students to teach the importance of insurance, investments, and financial planning. More than 400 students have graduated from the Peso Smart program since its inception.
Campaign Asia-Pacific’s 2022 Power List, in partnership with Twitter, celebrates marketers all over the region who have achieved great success and possess values such as “resilience, empathy, and a clear sense of purpose” when dealing with crises and game-changing shifts that have challenged industries and changed the business landscape like never before.
