BOSTON, April 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock's Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT) today announced a collaboration with ConsenSys and BlockApps in the LOFT's first Ethereum blockchain proof of concept (PoC). The LOFT will apply blockchain technologies to enhance the on-boarding of new wealth management clients in order to enhance one of the critical drivers of customer satisfaction.

"Our goal is to simplify and enhance the customer experience when they first begin doing business with us. In the wealth management business this involves not only satisfying customers, but regulatory and legal aspects as well," said Ace Moghimi, Assistant Vice President and Head of Innovation, North America. "We could not have found a better partner than ConsenSys and BlockApps to accelerate our understanding and ability to build out applications leveraging blockchain."

In 2015, John Hancock launched the LOFT, a 6,500 square foot space located at its Seaport area headquarters in Boston's "Innovation District," devoted to a culture of innovation and creativity within all facets of the organization. LOFTs are key to the development of new ways to fulfill the Company's customer-centric strategy. New LOFTs are being opened around the world to further collaboration and devise new forward-thinking technology solutions for the Company's various wealth and asset management and insurance business lines.

Igor Lilic, Principal Technical Lead of ConsenSys Enterprise, said, "The LOFT group is a model example of innovation within the enterprise: bright, enthusiastic teams tasked with understanding new technologies and who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty by building prototypes. We are incredibly enthusiastic about John Hancock's commitment to the blockchain ecosystem and we look forward to continued collaboration as LOFT builds smart contract based platforms."

Kieren James-Lubin, Chief Product Officer of BlockApps, said, "LOFT is just that - an organization focused around forward thinking. They are building the technical knowhow and internal stakeholder support that will allow John Hancock to be a disruptor rather than a disruptee as the blockchain revolution materializes. We are extremely enthusiastic about our partnership with LOFT."

Resources:


    --  www.johnhancock.com
    --  www.blockapps.net
    --  www.consensys.net

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
 John Hancock Financial is part of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were $935 billion (US $676 billion) as at December 31, 2015. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSA, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Follow John Hancock on Twitter @JohnHancockUSA or visit www.johnhancock.com.

About BlockApps STRATO
 BlockApps STRATO is the full-stack Ethereum blockchain infrastructure solution that allows developers to build highly scalable industry-specific blockchain applications. Developed in Haskell, with proven reliability in financial applications, BlockApps STRATO enables high transaction throughput, faster transaction settlement times, and turing-complete blockchain ledgers. The BlockApps team is also responsible for EthereumH, the Ethereum compliant Haskell protocol.

For more information, please go to: www.blockapps.net

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    --  on LinkedIn
    --  on Twitter
    --  on Github

About ConsenSys

ConsenSys is a venture production studio that specializes in building core components, decentralized applications (DApps), enterprise solutions and various developer tools for blockchain ecosystems, focused primarily on Ethereum. Powered by smart contracts, and secured through encryption, our applications provide the benefits of transparency, auditability, and immutability that are unique to blockchain-based solutions.

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    --  On Twitter
    --  On Facebook
    --  On Github

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SOURCE John Hancock Financial