Global Diversity & Inclusion

Michel A. Khalaf

President and Chief Executive Officer

Michel A. Khalaf is president and chief executive officer of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), one of the world’s leading financial services companies. MetLife provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to customers in more than 40 countries around the world and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2018, MetLife had $68 billion in revenue and ranked 43rd on the FORTUNE 500®. Khalaf became president and CEO on May 1, 2019.

Khalaf joined MetLife in 2010 as chief executive officer of its Middle East, Africa and South Asia region through the company’s acquisition of AIG’s Alico. In 2011, Khalaf joined MetLife’s Executive Group when he was named president of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region with responsibility for individual and group insurance businesses sold through agent, broker, bank and direct channels in more than 25 countries. In 2017, he added responsibility for the company’s U.S. businesses – Group Benefits, Retirement & Income Solutions and Property & Casualty – and for Global Employee Benefits, a horizontal business unit dedicated to growing employee benefits in approximately 40 countries.

In his 21 years at Alico, Khalaf held a number of leadership roles in various markets around the world, including the Caribbean, France and Italy. In 1996, he was named the first general manager of Alico’s operation in Egypt. In 2001, he assumed the position of regional senior vice president in charge of Alico’s Life, Pension and Mutual Fund operation in Poland, Romania and the Baltics. Later, he served as deputy president and chief operating officer of Philamlife, AIG’s operating company in the Philippines. Khalaf began his career as an investment officer at Alico headquarters in Wilmington, Del.

Khalaf is a graduate of Syracuse University with a B.S. in engineering and M.B.A. in finance.

Dr. Cindy Pace

Vice President, Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at MetLife.

Dr. Cindy Pace is Vice President, Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at MetLife.  In this role, Pace leads the global D&I strategy for an enterprise wide employee base of 49,000 in nearly 40 countries. Aligned to the company’s business imperative, the strategy drives and promotes D&I as critical success factors to fuel innovation, cross-cultural collaboration and business success. By emboldening and activating more accountable leaders and ownership across the enterprise, Pace seeks to empower and partner with inclusive leaders. She will also continue engaging with strategic partners, industry peers, and external professional organizations to exchange ideas and next practices.

Pace joined MetLife in 2013 to lead the company’s first global women’s initiative to advance women in leadership roles and strengthen the readiness and capabilities of women in the talent pipeline. Under her leadership, these efforts resulted in an increase of merited promotions into vice president-level roles. In addition, Pace also led U.S. Diverse Talent and Purpose at Work initiatives. Through her work, Cindy partnered with employees and leaders across the organization to build a strong culture of inclusion that fosters a sense of purpose, collaboration and values the diverse attributes each employee brings to the company. Recently, Pace also spearheaded the new partnership with the United Nations’ Women and Global Innovation Coalition for Change and serves as an advisor and company representative.

Prior to MetLife, Cindy worked in various corporate management and global leadership roles in clinical research, diversity and inclusion, organizational change, executive leadership development, talent strategy integration, and innovation at Pfizer. She began her corporate career in clinical research in Women’s Health at Solvay Pharmaceuticals (now part of AbbVie) after transitioning as a Centers for Disease Control-trained molecular and clinical microbiologist.

Cindy frequently provides thought leadership at global conferences and academic institutions where she presents on global diversity, inclusive leadership, purpose and women’s leadership. Her insights have been featured in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Fortune Magazine and the book Women’s Leadership Journeys: Stories, Research, and Novel Perspectives.

Cindy holds a doctorate degree in Organizational Learning and Leadership from Teachers College-Columbia University, a master’s in Business Education from New York University, and a B.S. in Biology from Morris Brown College, where she was Biomedical Research Fellow in Microbiology and Neuropsychology. She is a passionate advocate of personal leadership development, STEM education for girls, and women’s financial empowerment.