John Hancock Financial, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corporation, has appointed Kevin Cloherty as its global compliance chief. He previously served as a senior vice president and deputy global compliance chief.

In Cloherty's new role, he is responsible for Manulife's compliance activities throughout Canada, Asia, and the U.S. He replaces James Gallagher, who is now general counsel and chief administrative officer.

Cloherty spent 11 years with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was chief of the drug unit in the Boston U.S. Attorney's office. He joined John Hancock and Manulife in 2005 from the Boston law firm Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, where he was a partner in its litigation practice group.