HONG KONG, July 17 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- New York Life International, LLC (NYLI), the international arm of New York Life Insurance Company, announced today the restructuring of the roles and responsibilities of its key senior leadership in Asia. As NYLI continues to focus on achieving superior growth across all markets, key senior executives of the company will be undertaking additional roles:

-- Arthur Belfer, Executive Vice President and CEO, Asia Sub-Region for
Thailand and Korea, will assume the Senior Executive Officer role for
NYLI's Asia-based headquarters in Hong Kong.
-- Gary Bennett, Executive Vice President and Greater China CEO, will
maintain his current role overseeing China, Hong Kong and Taiwan but,
with his larger focus on China, will be relocating to Shanghai. Mr.
Bennett and Mr. Belfer will report directly to Dick Mucci, Chairman
and CEO, New York Life International.
-- William Beaty, Vice Chairman and CEO of Latin America, joins the board
of Max New York Life in India, and will be NYLI's key liaison with the
joint venture.

"We have been growing our leadership team aggressively over the last few years, with some notable, very senior appointments, including those of Arthur and Gary in the last eight months," said Mr. Mucci. "With our new structure in place, we have a team of outstanding leaders who possess deep experience in international markets and executive management. The team is dedicated to moving our business growth trajectory ever upwards and ensuring we maintain our well-deserved reputation as The Company you Keep."

In their country-oversight roles, Mr. Belfer and Mr. Bennett are already charged with working closely with the local country heads as they build and expand New York Life's successful businesses in these countries.

These developments follow the announcement that John Harrison, Vice Chairman, New York Life International, and Chief Executive Officer - Asia region, will retire from the company and the industry at the end of October 2009, after 35 years in life insurance. Mr. Harrison will be leaving the board of Max New York Life and will be replaced by William Beaty.

Mucci added, "John's leadership in driving NYLI's Asia business performance and profitable growth has been immeasurable. I would like to express my gratitude to John for his many achievements. He will be missed by everyone on both a professional and personal basis and we wish him a restful retirement as he returns to his native Canada."

Note to Editors:

Mr. Belfer has over 30 years of business and insurance industry experience, of which the last 22 years were spent in Asia. Among his roles, he most recently served as an executive vice president and regional director, Enterprise Risk Management for a major life insurer and also established its Asia Pacific Life Operations and led the region for 15 years.

Mr. Bennett has been EVP and Greater China CEO for NYLI since November 2008. Prior to this role he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Max New York Life, which he grew to a network of more than 500 offices across 250 cities. He moved to India from Hong Kong, where he was President and Chief Executive Officer at NYLI's Hong Kong operation. With more than 28 years in the industry, 15 of those in Asia, Mr. Bennett has held regional MD and Operational CEO roles with a number of companies in Australia and across Asia Pacific.

Mr. Beaty joined New York Life International in 2000. He served as country head of New York Life's wholly-owned Mexican subsidiary, Seguros Monterrey New York Life and CEO of Latin America. Mr. Beaty, who enjoys 36 years insurance industry experience - ten years in Asia and nine years in Latin America - was promoted to vice chairman of New York Life International in 2008.

Mr. Harrison, 59, has served with New York Life International since March 2006, overseeing operations in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand and India. During his 35-year career, he has worked in Asia, Europe and North America for several major international insurers. Over this time, he has overseen many areas of life insurance operations, including regional and domestic management, mergers and acquisitions, strategic development, reinsurance and product management.

About New York Life

New York Life International, LLC, the international arm of New York Life Insurance Company, offers insurance products through its subsidiaries and affiliates in China, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Argentina.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings from all four of the major credit rating agencies. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments* provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds.

Visit New York Life's Web site at http://www.newyorklife.com for more information.

*New York Life Investments is a service mark used by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC.

Contact:

Mary Devereux
New York Life International, LLC
Tel: +852-2584-2079 / +852-9470-7955
Email: Mary_Devereux@newyorklife.com

SOURCE New York Life International, LLC