The search for a new boss for Manulife Singapore is under way after Tuesday's announcement that chief executive Naveed Irshad has been promoted.

Mr Irshad will become head of the Canadian insurer's North America legacy business on Jan 1.

Ms Kwek-Perroy Li Choo, Manulife Singapore's chief customer officer, told The Straits Times yesterday: "There is an internal and external search under way for the Singapore CEO that Naveed is personally involved in. An announcement will be made in due course."

She added that the new CEO will report to Mr Anil Wadhwani, who has been appointed president and CEO of Manulife Asia.

Mr Irshad, a Canadian with more than 20 years of industry experience, has been Manulife Singapore's CEO since May 2014.

The staff movements are part of a major reshuffle in the Canadian insurer. An RTTNews article on Nasdaq.com said on Tuesday that Manulife "announced several structural and leadership changes to drive better alignment with its strategic priorities".

Ms Kwek-Perroy said the changes were important for Manulife and "will further support us in accelerating our ambition to transform our business to serve our customers better".

Mr Irshad told ST: "It is just amazing to compare where we were in early 2014 to where we are now. Our market share has grown tenfold and Manulife is on track to be one of the top life insurers in Singapore. In the last two years, we more than doubled our staff strength while maintaining our family-oriented culture."