The North American CRO Council is pleased to announce our newly elected Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, following the retirement of the current Chairperson at the end of March 2024.
Benjamin Rosenthal was elected as the Chairperson of the CRO Council.
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Benjamin (Ben) is the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer for New York Life. In this role, Ben leads the Risk Management department and is responsible for ensuring the company is aligned with industry leading risk management practices. Ben works with senior executives to set risk appetite and embed risk management governance, methods and practices that enable strategic business objectives. Ben is Chair of the Risk Steering Committee and meets regularly with company stakeholders including the Board of Directors. Ben joined New York Life in 2016 as Senior Vice President and Head of Operational Risk Management. He was appointed Chief Risk Officer in 2020. Prior to joining New York Life, Ben was Senior Vice President and Chief Operational Risk Officer at Northern Trust, where he oversaw the Operational and Fiduciary Risk practices. Previously, as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Risk Analytics & Insurance at Northern Trust, he established risk models, risk analytics, and risk transfer solutions. Earlier in his career Ben developed operational risk capital models for a large North American bank, built demand forecasting and pricing models for government agencies, worked in the oil and gas industry, and served in the Israeli Defense Force. Ben earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wake Forest University and holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Ben resides in New Jersey with his wife and four children. |
Sarah Williams was elected as the Vice - Chairperson of the CRO Council.
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Sarah is Chief Risk Officer at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). She joined the company in 2022 and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s enterprise risk management function, including investment and market risk, cybersecurity risk, derivatives use and governance, and operational risk. Williams oversees Guardian’s enterprise risk appetite ensuring it aligns with the company’s purpose and values and also serves as the chair of the Corporate Risk Management Committee. Williams’ career spans more than 20 years in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Guardian, she held several leadership roles including Deputy Chief Risk Officer at Global Atlantic Financial Group; Vice President of Global Capital Risk at MassMutual where she led the company’s assessment of international capital standards. Williams also spent ten years at The Hartford in a variety of finance, actuarial and risk roles, most recently as Vice President of Risk Analytics and Governance. She started her professional career as an auditor at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Williams is active in industry forums, including the Insurance Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC) of the Federal Reserve Board, which she has served on since 2021. A graduate summa cum laude, Williams holds a BA in Accounting from American International College and a MS in Accounting from Western New England College. She became a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter in 2004. |
