Fireside Chat: MetLife’s Koley Corte and Anna Papadopoulos

Koley Corte is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Corporate and Institutional at MetLife. In this role, Koley provides strategic leadership for the company’s corporate and institutional marketing efforts and leads the company’s global customer insights and analytics capability. Koley is responsible for the development and strategy for MetLife’s voice in the market, including responsibility for establishing MetLife’s corporate brand position, activating the brand through sponsorships and partner marketing and driving brand health across key strategic platforms, including sustainability, DE&I and purpose. She also has oversight for MetLife Investment Management and Retirement Income Solutions strategic growth marketing efforts.

Koley brings strong expertise in leading strategy, marketing and digital functions, along with deep experience in business and financial planning, change management, data analytics and insights, and corporate development. She has an extensive background in and understanding of the financial services, investments and insurance industries.

Prior to joining MetLife in 2022, Koley was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Business Transformation at AllianceBernstein (AB) where she focused on focused on developing and delivering transformative growth strategies for scaleable, next generation institutional and retail asset management distribution. In this role, Koley was responsible for deepening the firm’s customer knowledge and understanding and leveraging that to drive digital scale in relationships as well as to expand into adjacencies. Koley led the development of the transformational growth imperative for the business, along with a series of strategies to deliver growth and value, leveraging digital and data to increase personalization, relevance and impact, with initiatives designed to drive growth through digital scale including digital and social sales, distribution enablement and expansion into new products and services based on customer needs and opportunities. 

Prior to joining AB in 2017, Koley was at Reed Elsevier (RELX) where she served as Senior Vice President and Head of Digital, Innovation and Customer Acquisition, Americas Region for Reed Exhibitions (RX).  While at RX, she focused on driving attendee acquisition and engagement, developing digital programs, assets, capabilities and revenue, and deepening customer analytics and insights. Previously in her career, Koley has held progressive leadership roles at TIAA, American International Group (AIG) and the WPP/Y&R companies.   

Koley holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology, cum laude, from Brandeis University and an MBA with distinction in finance, management and international business from Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University.

It took some investigative work for Anna Papadopoulos to discover that marketing had all the benefits of a career in journalism, without the risk of entering enemy lines. Well, at least most of the time.

In her current role at MetLife, Anna assumes leadership over all aspects of corporate marketing, playing a pivotal role in developing and executing brand and engagement strategies to drive commercial outcomes. Her responsibilities extend to shaping MetLife’s corporate position and brand, reinforcing the company’s commitment to its purpose of “Always with you, building a more confident future.”

Prior to her role at MetLife, Anna held the position of Global Vice President for Media, Sponsorships, and Acquisition Marketing at Prudential Financial. During her tenure there, she successfully managed a multi-million-dollar annual media and sponsorship budget; leading integrated teams, Anna expertly navigated the ever-changing marketing landscape, blending art and science to achieve impactful results.

Recognized as an early adopter of digital marketing, Anna made significant contributions to the industry by developing and implementing the first digital campaigns for several Fortune 500 companies, including Schering Plough (now Merck), OppenheimerFunds (now Invesco), New Balance, Reckitt Benckiser (now Reckitt), and JP Morgan (now JPMorgan & Co). Additionally, she spearheaded the first fully integrated campaign for Volvo, showcasing her proficiency in creating holistic brand experiences.

As an advocate for creative thinking, Anna firmly believes that brand marketing surpasses traditional advertising. It revolves around expressing a company’s purpose in a meaningful, organic, and authentic manner that resonates with all stakeholders. For years, she shared her invaluable insights through her column on ClickZ, a prominent resource for digital marketing. Furthermore, Anna’s expertise has made her a sought-after speaker on industry panels and a contributor to major media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Ad Age, and Adweek.

In addition to her professional achievements, Anna serves as an adjunct professor at The Lucille and Jay Chazzanoff School of Business (CUNY), where she developed a pioneering media planning curriculum. She holds a B.S., summa cum laude, in journalism from St. John’s University and advanced degrees from Rutgers Business School and City University of New York. Currently, she is in the process of completing a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Anna is a proud native New Yorker who delights in introducing her three children, Michael, Elias, and Irene, to the vibrant treasures of New York City. She also dedicates herself to the practice and teaching of yoga, nurturing her holistic well-being.