Swati Scanlon is Vice President, Head of Governance and Supplier Diversity at New York Life Insurance Company. In this new role since 2021, she is responsible for establishing governance framework and 1st-line audit functions related to sourcing and third-party management processes. Prior to this, she headed up New York Life’s Third-Party Management Office since 2016, where she was initially responsible for the development and institutionalization of an enterprise-wide third-party risk management program and subsequently relationship and performance management.
She has overseen New York Life’s Supplier Diversity Program since 2016, with a strong focus on growth and enhancement initiatives and championing stronger outreach and partnerships. She is an active executive sponsor of the program and chairs the Supplier Diversity Advisory Council at New York Life. Her leadership, coupled with her passion for diversity and inclusion, helped bring a mature and strong program to an even higher-level of engagement and success, both internally and externally.
Swati joined New York Life in 2010 as CFO/Controller for the Institutional Annuities business and subsequently was Managing Director and Controller for New York Life’s Investments Group, where she led the financial integration of the European and Australian multi-specialist asset management firms acquired by New York Life Investments in 2014. She also assumed the role of Chief Risk Officer of New York Life Investments on an interim basis during 2015.
Prior to joining New York Life, Swati was at The Hartford, ultimately as CFO of their Private Placement Corporate Owned/Bank Owned Life Insurance and High Net Worth businesses. She also assumed the role of interim CFO for all of Hartford Life’s Institutional Business during the economic crisis in 2009.
Swati earned a B.A. in Statistics and Mathematics from Rutgers University. She is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of The American Academy of Actuaries, and served on the New York Life Trust Company Board from 2015 – 2018.
Swati joined the Board of Women’s Business Enterprise Council NY Metro/Greater DMV in July 2021 where she is chair of the Investment Committee and Co-chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. She was recently elected to the Board of the NY&NJ Minority Supplier Development Council in Jan 2022.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
As a young girl, I had a deep curiosity about outer space, particularly the Voyager explorations, so this quote from Dr. Mae Jemison really resonates with me. She was the first African American woman in space in 1992. But In addition to her success as a NASA astronaut, she is also a medical doctor, engineer, Environmental Studies professor at Dartmouth, Peace Corps medical officer, author, and even appeared on a few episodes of Star Trek. What an extraordinary example of someone who excelled in so many areas and evolved significantly through her life and career; she dreams big, where everything is possible, and she continues to follow her many passions.
“Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live”
Swati has a passion for environmental and animal rescue causes and is a trained Climate Change Awareness Leader through the Climate Reality Project. She believes strongly in education and advocacy and was a mentor for Rutgers Business School MBA Course – Collaborative for Technology, Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (CTEC) from Fall ’20 – Spring ‘21. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano and violin, traveling, running, hiking, and cooking.
Learn more about New York Life’s Supplier Diversity program.