Corporate Vice President - Head of Insurance Business Unit Risk Management

About the role

New York Life is seeking a highly motivated risk leader to join the Risk Management department as the Head of Insurance Business Unit Risk Management, leading the team of Risk Officers who support all of New York Life’s insurance businesses across the Foundational Business and Strategic Insurance Businesses.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, develop, and motivate the team of Risk Officers.
• Provide functional leadership and oversight of Risk Officers who sit directly within business areas, ensuring alignment and consistency of practice.
• Manage and support the Risk Officers in bringing key risk-related programs and initiatives to the business units—liaising with, and in some cases leading, the businesses toward meeting the requirements of risk policies, standards, and board-level commitments.
• Facilitate discussions that help the businesses understand, prioritize, and operationalize risk program requirements, and help them determine practical approaches to address identified gaps.
• Develop and manage relationships with senior executives across these businesses, serving as a trusted, practical risk advisor.
• Serve as the primary service broker and coordinator between business executives and Risk Management’s operational experts and practice leaders.
• Partner with business leadership, compliance, legal, and other risk management teams to identify, assess, and help mitigate risks specific to the business.
• Advise business leaders on how to best balance risk management activities against business priorities, applying judgment flexibly rather than rigidly.
• Provide independent oversight of the risks present and emerging across the businesses’ operations, products, and strategies.
• Perform targeted, evidence-based risk assessments when warranted, and provide control enhancement recommendations to stakeholders where appropriate.
• Aid in the development and refinement of controls to manage risks aligned to the organization’s risk appetite.
• Provide action-oriented risk reporting to the businesses, including identifying and surfacing cross-business insights.
• Track, report, and escalate business risk issues and events as appropriate, and help the businesses adhere to corporate risk management policies and standards.
• Provide thought leadership to further develop the framework, methodologies, and practices that enable Risk Officers to effectively support the businesses, including effective reporting and dashboarding, risk and control analysis, and risk assessments.
• Champion a test-and-learn approach, piloting new tools and methods to advance the value Risk Management delivers to the businesses.
• Advance the shift toward more technology-, data-, and AI-driven risk support, including self-service tools and dashboards that scale insight across the businesses.
• Import selected best practices from the field of operational risk management and manage external strategic partners and suppliers where services are contracted.

  Requirements

  Minimum 15+ years of relevant experience in insurance, banking, asset management, or a related industry, including experience leading teams and partnering with executives.

  Strong risk management background combined with a flexible, practical, and business-oriented approach to applying it—comfortable adapting to support business strategies rather than imposing rigid processes.

  Excellent executive- and senior-management-level communicator with the ability to convey risk information to non-technical business leaders.

  Critical thinker with broad and deep operational and financial risk technical knowledge.

  Strong people management, internal consulting, and partnering skills, with a demonstrated ability to develop and motivate talent.

  Demonstrated bias for action—able to move fast, drive initiatives forward, and balance competing priorities successfully.

  Experience leading or facilitating enterprise risk programs or initiatives across business units, and helping businesses meet policy, standard, or board-level requirements.

  Demonstrated desire to test and learn, with a track record of trying new approaches—including data, technology, and AI-enabled tools—to increase impact.

  Ability to influence with or without authority to achieve desired outcomes.

  Qualifications

  Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant professional certification preferred.

  Skills

  Practical and flexible risk leader who tailors risk management to support business strategy.

  Fast-moving driver who advances initiatives and delivers results.

  Curious, pragmatic innovator who embraces a test-and-learn mindset to create value.

  Exceptional relationship manager with strong interpersonal skills and executive presence.

  Effective talent developer who manages, develops, and motivates high-performing teams.

  Change leader who helps drive the broader risk organization forward, including its shift toward tech-, data-, and AI-driven support.

  Operates with sound judgment, integrity, and a collaborative, business-partnering mindset.

  Benefits

  Pay Transparency: Salary Range: $200,000-$240,000 Overtime eligible: Exempt Discretionary bonus eligible: Yes Sales bonus eligible: No

  Actual base salary will be determined based on several factors but not limited to individual’s experience, skills, qualifications, and job location. Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition to base salary, employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program.

  Company Overview: At New York Life, our 180-year legacy of purpose and integrity fuels our future. As we evolve into a more technology-, data-, and AI-enabled organization, we remain grounded in the values that drive lasting impact. Our diverse business portfolio creates opportunities to make a difference across industries and communities—inviting bold thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and purpose-driven innovation. Here, you’ll find the rare balance of long-standing stability and forward momentum, supported by an inclusive team that honors tradition while embracing progress.

  Our Benefits: We provide a full package of benefits for employees – and have unique offerings for a modern workforce, including leave programs, adoption assistance, and student loan repayment programs. Based on feedback from our employees, we continue to refine and add benefits to our offering, so that you can flourish both inside and outside of work.

  Our Commitment to Inclusion: At New York Life, fostering an inclusive workplace is fundamental to who we are and how we serve our communities. We have a longstanding commitment to creating an environment where individuals can contribute their best and succeed together. This foundation is rooted in our core values of humanity and integrity, ensuring that every employee feels valued and supported. By embracing a broad range of perspectives and experiences, we achieve greater success and fulfill our promise of providing financial security and peace of mind to families across all communities.