Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., the local unit of AIA Group, named Ariel Cantos as its new chief executive effective June 24.
Cantos succeeded Axel Bromley, who decided to relocate to the United States for personal reasons.
Prior to his appointment, Cantos was the chief executive of BPI-Philam, the bancassurance joint venture of Philam Life and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, the leading bancassurance operation in the Philippines.
“I am delighted that Aibee is assuming the role of CEO of Philam Life. Aibee has spent his entire career with Philam and has successfully held a range of senior leadership positions over the course of his long career. I am confident that Aibee will help lead Philam Life to new levels of growth and success,” AIA Group regional chief executive Gordon Watson said.
“I would also like to acknowledge the work of Axel Bromley, who helped to lay the foundation for Philam Life’s transformation journey. We wish Axel and his family all the best in their next chapter of life back in the United States,” said Watson.
Cantos, known among peers as Aibee, joined Philam Life as a management trainee and over a career spanning almost 30 years, subsequently held a number of senior roles, including profit center head of accident and health products, sales director of Manila agencies and sales director of provincial agencies.
Cantos’ most recent position at Philam Life was senior vice president and chief agency officer, where he led over 450 agency leaders and 6,000 advisors, before joining BPI-Philam in 2013.
As chief executive of Philam Life, Cantos will lead a team that is united in its commitment to achieve Philam Life’s vision to become the undisputed leader in life insurance and wealth management in the Philippines.
“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead Philam Life. The outlook for our company is extremely bright, as we continue to strengthen our distribution channels by advancing our premier agency strategy as well as driving bancassurance growth and expanding our portfolio of corporate clients,” Cantos said.
“We will also continue to invest in new technologies and modern facilities to ensure that our advisors are well equipped to provide the best possible experience to our large customer base as we help them to lead longer, healthier and better lives,” he said.
