Manulife Cambodia Chairman Robert Elliott honoured by King of Cambodia for services to the insurance sector and to Cambodia

• Elliott awarded highly prestigious Grand Officer class of Royal Order 

PHNOM PENH – Robert Elliott, Chairman of Manulife Cambodia, has been awarded the highly prestigious Royal Order of Monisaraphon by the King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni. The award class is Grand Officer and is in recognition of his work developing the insurance industry in the country, driving financial education among the population, and contributing to Cambodia’s social and economic development.

The Grand Officer class of Royal Order is an award by Royal Decree of the king. It is Cambodia’s second-highest award after the Grand Knight Cross (for the Royal Order category) and Robert is among a few foreigners in the financial sector receiving such a prestigious Royal Order.

“This award is well deserved and an absolute credit to Robert. His contribution to the development of Cambodia’s life insurance industry has been immense,” said Anil Wadhwani, President and CEO of Manulife Asia. “He’s been instrumental in building our business into a market leader there, as well as growing the insurance industry as a whole.”

Cambodia’s life insurance industry was formed in 2012 when Manulife became the first international life insurer licensed to operate there. The country now has 13 life insurers, with Manulife the market leader by market share for 2020 new business sales. As a whole, the life insurance sector employs about 10,000 people in Cambodia, with around 6,000 at Manulife, including contracted insurance advisors.

Manulife Cambodia was established in 2012, under Robert’s leadership as CEO and General Manager.  He was later elected Vice Chairman for the Insurance Association of Cambodia.

Robert, from the UK, has worked for Manulife since 1980 in numerous locations. Besides being Chairman of Manulife Cambodia, Robert is also CEO and General Manager of Manulife Myanmar. Prior to joining Manulife Cambodia, he spent 3 years with Manulife Singapore heading its Agency and Partnership Distribution channels, and before that had been based in Hong Kong.

“I’m humbled and extremely grateful for this honour,” said Robert. “Helping the Cambodian people build a better and healthier financial future, so they can plan for their futures and manage their savings more effectively is hugely fulfilling. Being recognized in this way for doing what I love really is a wonderful surprise. I’d like to thank the whole team in Manulife Cambodia, as this award was only made possible by their outstanding dedication to our customers.”