Marlene Debel

Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Head of MetLife Insurance Investments MetLife

Last Reviewed: October 3, 2026

Executive Summary

Marlene Debel has been Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of MetLife since May 2019, responsible for monitoring and managing financial and non-financial risk across the company, and since September 2023 also head of MetLife Insurance Investments, overseeing its general account investment portfolio. She joined MetLife in 2011 as executive vice president and treasurer, managing capital, liquidity and relationships with banks and rating agencies. She then became chief financial officer of the U.S. business in 2016 and head of Retirement and Income Solutions, the institutional retirement business, in 2018. Before MetLife she spent 20 years at Merrill Lynch, including as assistant treasurer, and was global head of liquidity risk management at Bank of America. She is a director of Raymond James Financial.

Career Highlights

• Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of MetLife since May 2019.
• Head of MetLife Insurance Investments since September 2023.
• Head of Retirement and Income Solutions, 2018 to 2019.
• Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Business, 2016 to 2018, and Treasurer, 2011 to 2016.
• Director of Raymond James Financial.

Professional Journey

Debel earned a BS in finance, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany and an MBA in finance from Fordham University, according to MetLife. She spent 20 years at Merrill Lynch in leadership positions including assistant treasurer and, after Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch, was Bank of America’s global head of liquidity risk management and rating agency relations.

She joined MetLife in 2011 as executive vice president and treasurer, responsible for capital management, liquidity risk, cash management and relationships with banks and rating agencies, and for the company’s transition to federal regulation as a non-bank systemically important financial institution. From July 2016 she was chief financial officer of the U.S. business, including MetLife Holdings.

From March 2018 she led Retirement and Income Solutions, covering pension risk transfer, defined contribution annuity products, corporate and bank-owned life insurance and structured settlements. She became chief risk officer in May 2019 and added MetLife Insurance Investments in September 2023. She serves on the boards of Raymond James Financial and the LaGuardia Community College Foundation. MetLife, based in New York, reported total revenues of $77.1 billion for 2025 and had about 46,000 employees, according to its 10-K.

MetLife’s Global Executive Leadership Team, as listed on its website, comprises the chief executive, the regional presidents for the U.S., Asia, Latin America and EMEA, and the heads of finance and investment management, risk, legal, technology and operations, human resources and marketing. She is a member of that team, holding both the risk and insurance investments portfolios.

Education

Fordham University

MBA, Finance

State University of New York at Albany

BS, Finance