Director, Business Development – Strategic Startup Partnerships

Job Description

Corporate Vice President – Director, Business Development | New York Life Insurance Company

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at New York Life Insurance Company, located in New York, USA with a hybrid work schedule of 3 days per week on-site. New York Life Ventures (NYLV) is New York Life’s strategic corporate venture capital unit, investing in and partnering with leading startups and venture funds to accelerate innovation across the company. This role is crucial for identifying, developing, and scaling high-impact partnerships between New York Life and the startup ecosystem, enabling business leaders to embrace cutting-edge technologies and drive innovation.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid – New York, USA
• Pay: $119000–$170000 yearly
• Team: NYLV’s Strategic Startup Partnerships team
• Mission: This person identifies, develops, and scales high-impact partnerships between New York Life and the startup ecosystem to drive innovation.
• Tech Stack: AI, digital assets/blockchain, data, infrastructure, quantum computing

What You’ll Actually Do
• Strategic Relationships: Build trusted relationships with senior business leaders across New York Life to understand strategic priorities, identify innovation opportunities, and introduce emerging technologies.
• Startup Sourcing & Diligence: Source, evaluate, and conduct diligence on startups aligned to enterprise priorities, leading screening and evaluation discussions and facilitating introductions between founders and business stakeholders.
• Program Management: Identify, prioritize, and manage a portfolio of Proof of Concept (PoC) engagements and pilot programs, ensuring initiatives align with strategic objectives and demonstrate measurable business value.
• Cross-functional Execution: Lead cross-functional execution of startup engagements by partnering with Legal, Risk, Procurement, Information Security, Compliance, and other internal stakeholders.
• Market Intelligence: Conduct ongoing market and competitive research on emerging technologies and innovation themes, synthesizing findings into strategic recommendations that inform business decisions and future partnership opportunities.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree in a technical, quantitative, or business discipline; this is a Director-level role within a corporate venture capital unit focusing on business development.
• Experience: 6+ years of professional experience, with a meaningful portion in a technical role such as solutions engineering, technical product management, presales, or technology consulting, ideally at or with enterprise software, SaaS, or technology services companies. Demonstrated experience scoping, structuring, or managing complex multi-party engagements.
• Skills: Ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for executive, non-technical audiences; strong analytical and structured thinking, including building frameworks and business cases; track record of operating cross-functionally across various internal departments; excellent written and verbal communication.
• Bonus: Prior experience in financial services, insurtech, enterprise software, or management consulting serving regulated industries; experience at or with early-stage startups, venture-backed companies, or a corporate innovation function; familiarity with venture capital deal flow, diligence, or the fund/portfolio model.