Home > About Manulife > Company History > Company Presidents

Company Presidents

George Gooderham (1891 - 1901)

One of the founding officers of the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company in 1887, George Gooderham (b.1820 - d.1905) served as one of the Company’s first Vice Presidents. He also has the distinction of being the Company’s first policyholder, purchasing a 10-year endowment.

Active in a number of business interests concurrent to his positions with the Company, Mr. Gooderham was also President of the family-owned Gooderham and Worts Distillery; President of both the Bank of Toronto and the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation; Director of the Toronto General Trust Company and Vice President of the Western Canada Loan and Savings Company.

After the death of Sir John A. Macdonald in 1891, George Gooderham became the Company’s second President. He served in this capacity until the Company’s amalgamation with Temperance and General Life Assurance Company in 1901. He relinquished the presidency of Manufacturers Life to Sir George W. Ross in order to avoid alienating policyholders- many of whom abstained from alcohol.

During Mr. Gooderham's presidency the Board of Directors made the decision to enter into foreign territories. By the time he stepped down as President in 1901, the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company had established agencies in the Caribbean, throughout Asia, and followed the gold rush into the Yukon. In ten years from 1891 to 1901, the Company’s New Business rose from $2.1 million to $5 million, Business in Force increased from $7.4 million to $27 million and assets increased from $438 000 to $3.7 million.

Two of George Gooderham's sons later succeeded him as President of Manufacturers Life: William George Gooderham in 1914, and Melville Ross Gooderham in 1935.

Next President: Sir George William Ross (1901-1914)