Lance LaVergne is a Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for New York Life Insurance Company. As chief diversity officer, Lance is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s Diversity program, including the implementation and execution of the company’s Diversity strategy; coordination of Diversity activities and events with particular emphasis on the areas of recruitment, training, development and retention; and communication on Diversity both internally and externally. In addition, Lance works closely with New York Life’s department managers and employee network groups to ensure that Diversity initiatives are aligned with business strategies and goals.
Prior to joining New York Life, Lance was a Vice President in the Human Capital Management Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co, where he served as the global head of Diversity recruiting. He also managed other firmwide Diversity initiatives focusing on race, gender, sexual orientation and work-life issues. He was a member of the firm’s Global Diversity and the Global Recruiting Leadership Teams. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Lance served in recruiting roles at McKinsey & Company, Arthur Anderson LLP, and Russell Reynolds Associates focusing on various aspects of the financial service industry including insurance, banking, capital markets and asset management.
Lance began his financial services career in retail brokerage at Shearson Lehman Brothers. After earning an MBA, he worked in the fixed income and currencies businesses at Chase Manhattan Bank and Merrill Lynch.
Lance earned a BA in Sociology from Harvard and an MBA in Finance from Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU. He currently resides in Montclair, NJ with his wife and 4 children.
