Keith McClain
Vice President and Global Head of Compensation
New York Life
Headquarters: New York, New York
Industry: Financial Services
CEO: Ted Mathas
Website: www.newyorklife.com
His Credentials: Master’s degree, human resources management, Rutgers University; Bachelor’s degree, industrial and organizational psychology, University of Maryland
His Philosophy: Progress does not happen. Progress is made. Everything we are as a society and culture—all the good and all the bad—is the direct result of somebody deciding to act.
New York Life kicked off 2020 with our campaign, You Belong: Building a future where everyone belongs. We created a Social Justice Steering Committee to advance the company’s social and racial equity efforts. Our Social Justice Working Group assesses current initiatives and proposes practices to support employees and the broader community. We developed a new Coming Together program for small team sessions that discussed being color brave instead of color blind. The company designed and delivered manager and executive training on Leading During Uncertain Times to address COVID-19, as well as courageous conversation and inclusive leadership training. We also created 11 resource guides related to COVID-19 and social justice, and launched a new mentorship program for our Asian, Black, and Latino ERGs.
In 2021, we will continue to focus on supporting social justice. Our annual campaign, Social Justice in Action: Let’s talk about us, will provide a platform to help employees understand the importance of identity in intersectionality and what it’s like to walk in others’ shoes. Our Social Justice Steering Committee and Working Group will continue to implement initiatives to drive meaningful progress. We plan to continue our Coming Together courageous conversation series, and training and support for employees and managers. We will also expand our mentorship program and implement the next phase of our unconscious bias training program.
