Get to know Corporate Compliance’s Irena Brobston

New York Life | April 7, 2026

Brobston discusses her career path, how her department is evolving how it operates, and more.

Talk a bit about your role and what your team does.

I oversee a number of functions in the Corporate Compliance Department (CCD) including Anti-Money Laundering, Complaint Review, Privacy and Sales Material Review (better known as SMRU), as well as Group Compliance oversight. The teams work hard every day to protect the company and partner with our business colleagues to find solutions in our regulated industry. I also work closely with our Chief Compliance Officer, Sandi Tillotson, on Operations and am helping to lead the deployment of Continuous Improvement within CCD.

Tell me about your career path and how you came to be at New York Life.

I began my career as a litigation attorney at a large New York City law firm handling commercial litigation. Knowing I didn’t want to spend my entire career in a firm, I moved in-house to New York Life when a litigation role opened up. The opportunity to work for one client with a mission-driven purpose was compelling. I spent 12 years in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) managing litigation, projects, and board reporting, while gaining deep insight into our businesses and products.

In 2017, I joined Operational Risk Management. While I loved my role in OGC, the chance to help build a new department and manage a team for the first time was an exciting growth opportunity. The role was challenging and intense, requiring a different approach and skills and offering a broader view of the company and its people. After six years in Risk Management, I joined Compliance in 2023.

What has the implementation of Continuous Improvement (CI) been like?

CCD is currently in the Implement phase, following Planning, Diagnose, and Design. We have worked closely with the CI team, our local Change Agents, and leadership to roll it out and keep teams informed and supported. We recognize that this brings significant change on top of other companywide shifts, but CI allows teams to test approaches and pivot when needed.

A key benefit has been increased visibility across teams, along with a more critical evaluation of existing processes and metrics. During the Diagnose phase, we identified processes that took too long and gaps in measurement. The Design phase produced solutions that we are now implementing. While CI requires focus and energy, we are excited about the greater transparency, efficiency and engagement it is bringing to CCD.

What possibilities does AI bring to Compliance?

From day-to-day use of AI tools to hands-on exploration at the Microsoft Garage to building custom GPTs, CCD is embracing AI at every level. We are embedding AI in analytics processes to uncover deeper insights and improvement opportunities across dashboards and datasets developed by CCD’s Data Analytics team, which will enable us to transform our processes. We are also working with Norm, an AI start up introduced to us through NYL Ventures, to develop an AI tool for sales material reviews. More broadly, AI will have a profound impact on how we manage compliance risk in a more effective and intuitive way. We see AI reshaping Compliance into a seamless, embedded function — “compliance as a service.”

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Never stop learning and don’t lose your sense of humor. My parents, both educators and immigrants, believed education and hard work were the foundation for building opportunity. They instilled a love of learning, curiosity, and asking questions – both in and beyond the classroom – which continues to guide me personally and professionally.

In Compliance, asking thoughtful questions helps us understand the “why” behind our stakeholders’ goals, leading to more effective conversations and smoother paths to solutions.

What do you like to do outside the office?

I enjoy spending time with my two daughters, husband, Italian greyhound named Achilles and friends and family. I love to travel, play pickleball, run and hang at the beach. I recently started listening to audiobooks as I take my dog for a walk. I just finished re-reading Wuthering Heights and currently am enjoying 11/22/63, a book about time travel and the JFK assassination by Stephen King.  

I am a proud board member of Girls on the Run Long Island, a nonprofit that enables young girls to learn life skills and gain more confidence through running. At the end of each season, the girls run a celebratory 5K – the joy you see on their faces as they cross the finish line and receive their trophies is truly inspiring.