Corporate Vice President, Distribution Strategy & Planning Lead

 

Location Designation: Fully Remote 

Group Benefit Solutions delivers comprehensive insurance and absence management solutions for mid-sized and large companies. Our work fosters a healthier, happier, and more secure workforce, contributing to New York Life’s legacy of being there when we’re needed most. Here, you'll design, implement, and support these solutions directly impacting employees’ lives. At our core, we provide financial security and peace of mind to people through our absence, accident, disability, voluntary benefits, and life insurance solutions. Click here to learn more about Group Benefits solutions.

 

Role Overview

The Distribution Strategy & Planning Lead plays a critical role in defining the strategic direction of the Group Benefit Solutions (GBS) Distribution organization. This visionary and data-driven leader will collaborate with senior leadership to architect the roadmap that accelerates sustainable growth, enhances broker and client experiences, and positions our sales teams for long-term success.

With direct leadership over Sales Enablement, Technology Strategy & Enablement, and Continuous Improvement, the role also manages matrixed responsibilities across other functional teams. This leader will combine analytical rigor with executional excellence to drive initiatives that align to business priorities, deliver clear impact, and foster innovation across the distribution ecosystem.

 

What You'll Do

Strategic Planning & Execution

• Develop and drive the end-to-end Distribution strategic planning cycle in alignment with financial targets and NYL’s enterprise mission.
• Synthesize internal and external data—market research, competitive trends, capability roadmaps—to identify growth opportunities and strategic gaps.
• Define and prioritize initiatives with clearly measurable KPIs; monitor impact and refine as needed.
• Collaborate across business units to align execution and ensure strategic coherence across the organization.
• Craft and communicate a compelling narrative to engage and inspire sales, leadership, and cross-functional teams.

Enablement Leadership

• Lead Sales Enablement strategy to centralize knowledge, standardize processes, improve insights, and ensure delivery of communication and project coordination across Distribution.
• Oversee Continuous Improvement (CI) tools and frameworks to sustain operational discipline and support change adoption.
• Ensure that enablement and strategic operations continuously evolve to meet market demands and business complexity.

Technology & Data Strategy

• Champion the use of technology and data to enhance Sales effectiveness and improve decision-making across Distribution.
• Identify and deliver digital capabilities aligned with seller needs and client expectations.
• Assess current insight generation maturity; create a roadmap to embed operational, competitive, and client-facing insights within Distribution.
• Establish consistent data frameworks and prioritization models to inform scalable, intelligent investment decisions.

 

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in business, management, or related field (Master’s or MBA strongly preferred).
• Proven experience in strategic planning, execution, and enablement within a complex, matrixed organization.
• Deep understanding of distribution, go-to-market strategy, sales operations, or sales enablement functions.
• Strong analytical capabilities; ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
• Experience leading change initiatives and cross-functional projects with clear business outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across diverse teams and influence without direct authority.
• Outstanding communication and storytelling abilities tailored to multiple audiences.
• Passion for technology as a catalyst for human enablement and business transforma