Stephen W. Gauster

Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Stephen W. Gauster was named executive vice president and general counsel of MetLife in May 2018. He is responsible for leading the company's global legal operations and Corporate Secretary's Office. In addition, Corporate Ethics and Compliance reports into Gauster as part of a matrix organizational structure.

Gauster was appointed MetLife's interim general counsel in July 2017. He joined the company in January 2016 as senior vice president and chief counsel of the General Corporate Section of Legal Affairs.

Prior to joining MetLife, Gauster was senior vice president, chief corporate counsel and assistant secretary at Assurant. In that role, he was responsible for the company's corporate center legal functions and corporate governance of the parent company and subsidiaries. Before Assurant, Gauster was vice president, corporate counsel and assistant secretary at Prudential Financial from 2004 to 2008. During his tenure, he supported Prudential's treasury functions, capital market transactions and public company disclosure. He also served as secretary to the Finance and Investment Committees of the Board of Directors. Previously, Gauster was an associate with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and a law clerk for the Honorable Jane R. Roth, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Gauster is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey (as in-house counsel) and the District of Columbia (inactive). He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was books and commentaries editor of the Harvard Law Review. He also earned a master's degree from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Harvard College.

Gauster is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Securities Regulation, the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the American Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Northfield Mount Hermon School and Chair of its Investment Committee.