James Carlin has been elected as the chairman of the board for John Hancock Funds. Carlin has been serving as the interim CEO of Hancock Funds since the former chairman, Ronald Dion, passed away in December of 2007. Carlin, 67, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Carlin Consolidated, Inc., an investment and management firm.

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Company Press Release

BOSTON , May 1, 2008 – James F. Carlin has been elected independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees for John Hancock Funds. Mr. Carlin, who has served as a John Hancock Funds Trustee since 1992, succeeds Ronald R. Dion, who passed away in December of 2007. Mr. Carlin had been serving as interim board chairman.

“We are very pleased to have Jim leading our Board,” said Keith F. Hartstein, President and CEO of John Hancock Funds. “His experience and financial acumen will serve us well.”

Mr. Carlin, 67, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carlin Consolidated, Inc., an investment and management firm, and serves as a director for a number of organizations.

He also served as Massachusetts Commissioner of Commerce from 1979 to 1981 and Secretary of Transportation and Chairman of the MBTA from 1981 to 1983. Appointed receiver for the City of Chelsea in 1991, Mr. Carlin worked to restore the city's decaying fiscal base, and with the Boston University/Chelsea Partnership, its school system. Governor William Weld appointed him Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education in 1995, and in that position he has been committed to providing affordable, high-quality education, especially in the state and community college system.

Mr. Carlin earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Florida in 1961. He serves as director of several organizations and businesses and received the Paul Tsongas Award for Outstanding Public Service in 1988 and Inc.'s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1990.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $56.8 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at December 31, 2007. John Hancock Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA. For more information, please visit www.jhfunds.com .

John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States , the company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$396 billion (US$401 billion) at December 31, 2007. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com . 

Edited by: Erin Kello


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