New York Life, the largest mutual life insurer in the United States, has announced that William Cassidy, SVP, will assume the role of chief information officer (CIO), effective March 31, 2021. Cassidy will oversee enterprise technology, focused on continuing the company’s commitment to and investment in technology, and on driving solutions that benefit New York Life’s customers, financial professionals, and employees, according to a statement from the insurer. He will report to Alex Cook, SVP and head of strategic capabilities. Cassidy succeeds Dave Castellani, SVP and business information officer, who will retire at the end of this month.

“William’s impressive track record as a technology leader positions him well to align our business and technology priorities and continue to enhance our information technology capabilities and infrastructure, delivering innovative solutions to New York Life’s customers, financial professionals, and employees,” comments Cook. “We thank Dave for his decade of distinguished service to New York Life leading the team’s transformation to a business-led technology organization and creating a strong foundation on which William and the team will continue to build.”

Former SVP, Shared Services Technology

Prior to assuming the CIO position, Cassidy served as SVP and head of shared services technology, which included overseeing enterprise computing services, enterprise architecture, enterprise data, information security, digital, and technology strategy planning. Cassidy joined New York Life in 2018 as CIO of investments technology, responsible for providing technology solutions to New York Life Investments.

Before joining New York Life, Mr. Cassidy served as chief information officer for Och-Ziff Capital Management, a publicly traded alternative asset management firm, where he was responsible for all global technology including business facing application development and integration as well as the firm’s global technical infrastructure. He previously held roles of increasing responsibility at BlackRock, Western Asset Management, and Goldman Sachs.