Senior Risk Management Leader in Financial Services

NICOLE FELLNER

Paramus, NJ ***** 908-***-****

********@*******.***

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Accomplished Risk Management Professional with 17+ years of experience in operational risk management, business optimization, and leadership within financial services and insurance industries. Extensive expertise in developing and implementing comprehensive risk frameworks, conducting deep-dive risk assessments, and partnering with cross-functional teams to manage financial and operational risks. Skilled in strategic risk oversight, valuation, and regulatory compliance with a proven track record of driving business growth through robust risk management practices.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Enterprise Risk Management & Mitigation Strategic Risk Assessment & Framework Development

US Insurance Product Risk Analysis Financial and Operational Risk Oversight

Capital Modeling & Economic Metrics Stress Testing & Scenario Analysis

Regulatory Reporting Cross-Functional Collaboration

Performance Metrics & Analytics Strategic Leadership EXPERIENCE

METLIFE New York, NY

Global Technology & Operations, Business Controls, Director of Global Operational Risk (2023 – current)

Lead the implementation and evolution of the Global Operations Risk Framework across US, Europe, Middle East, Mexico, South America, and Asia regions, collaborating with Corporate Risk Management, Internal Audit, Compliance, and Technology teams

Develop and deliver comprehensive training programs to global teams on risk framework implementation, resulting in 30% improved adoption rates and consistent understanding across regions

Design and implement learning measurement strategies to evaluate training effectiveness, resulting in targeted improvements to course content and delivery methods

Develop and implement risk-related metrics and indicators, aligning them with performance metrics, and create dashboard reporting for executive-level summaries

Champion continuous improvement initiatives, fostering an agile and experimental mindset across risk activities

Communicate risk strategy and vision effectively to stakeholders, building strong relationships with departments including Audit, IT, SOX, Compliance, and ORM

Create learning content for emerging risk identification and assessment activities, partnering with subject matter experts to ensure technical accuracy and engaging presentation

Facilitate digital learning transformation by implementing new training delivery methods for global reach

Ensure strategic initiatives are risk-identified, understood, and managed through targeted training programs addressing potential operational risks and control gaps

Foster a customer-centric approach, focusing on creating exceptional customer experiences to achieve a competitive advantage

Global Technology & Operations, Business Controls, Operational Risk Manager (Europe & Asia) (2022 – 2023)

Established a robust Risk Based Control Testing program, providing training on control testing best practices and overseeing control testing implementation

Developed curriculum and delivered instructor-led training for 200+ employees on risk identification and mitigation strategies

Partnered with cross-functional teams and heads of operations to analyze operational controls, ensure control effectiveness and appropriate risk mitigation

Coordinated and collaborated, while building strong relationships with internal audit, risk, compliance, customer service and operations regional partners

Designed and implemented training evaluation mechanisms to measure learning impact and program ROI

Developed and delivered monthly/quarterly metric reporting to Senior Management US Business, Retirement & Income Funding Solutions, Senior Business Architect (2019 – 2022)

Established business architecture tools and methodologies that are implemented to support regulatory requirements of strategic research and monitoring of payments and escheatment of $20M for over 4,000 participants

Created training modules for regulatory compliance, ensuring consistent implementation across business units

Business Optimization & Re-Engineering: Conducted requirement gathering sessions with business SMEs, process and rules definition and documentation of functional specification to establish requirements for developing new self-service portal for annuitants

Conducted business strategy, technology, and operational alignment to drive system enhancements and data enrichment in systems of record

Global Technology & Operations, Corporate Benefits Funding, Strategy & Training Manager (2017 – 2019)

Strategically directed and managed the design and delivery of best-in-class operational excellence processes and initiatives for the Global Tech & Operations (GTO), Corporate Benefits Funding team

Planned and developed an operating budget of $16.1M with over 200 employees in the US and India, program benefits of $2.1M and a decrease of 8% over the prior year budget

Team Leadership & Employee Training: Directed & led remote high-performing national team of 10+ professionals in design, implementation and measurement of strategic operations planning initiatives focused on training consultants, knowledge & content management and Lean management

Organized and conducted orientation sessions and ongoing on-the-job training for 86+ new hire GTO associates in Tampa to support increased special project business volumes; new hiring training program resulted in significant decreases in processing errors & productivity increases of 20% y-o-y

Created and reviewed all training materials for accuracy and policy compliance; additionally, evaluated the effectiveness of GTO's training programs and recommend improvements to upper management including pre e-learning requirements and 3-step comprehensive learning style methodologies

Spearheaded implementation of lean six sigma and metric reporting tools supporting associate engagement, Daily Activity Tracker and Demand and Capacity platforms leading to automation of operations metrics and development of benchmarks

Global Technology & Operations, Senior Business Partner, Procedures & Metrics (2016 - 2017)

Business Partner/Advisor: Directed & guided work streams, collaborating with internal business partners across the GTO organization to enhance budgetary & metrics reporting, streamline processes, increase cost transparency, implement cost saving initiatives, instill governance principles & drive change agendas

LEAN Methodology lead: Spearheaded implementation of LEAN methodology and tools across the organization and achieved designated role of LEAN sustain agent for the NY site

Developed training curriculum for LEAN methodology implementation, resulting in organization-wide adoption

Developed and implemented productivity tools across the organization, including both sites in the US (NY

& GA) and both sites in India (Noida & Jaipur)

Global Technology & Operations, Client Service Specialist (2015 – 2016)

Headed business optimization efforts to evaluate and streamline pricing and trading processes to reduce end-to-end processing times and risk of customer, pricing or trading delays/issues

Collaborated with Customer Centricity teams to improve customer experience along the customer journey, serving as lead coordinator for process documentation change management program

Strategically project managed migration of functions to Global Sourcing Solutions in India, including migration schedule, system certifications, training and BAU (Business as Usual) monitoring Global Technology & Operations, Annuity Supervisor (2012 – 2015)

Managed and direct day-to-day operations and functions of four direct reports supporting Annuity Operations and Stable Value/Investment Funds

Recruited, hired and trained team of four, developing comprehensive onboarding programs and training materials

Provided continuous coaching and timely performance feedback, ensuring development opportunities for advancement and professional growth

Global Technology & Operations, Annuity Team Leader (2010 – 2012)

Strategically managed and oversaw daily operations and business processes of the Annuity Administration team, serving as lead contact for all annuity administrators Global Technology & Operations, Annuity Administrator (2007 - 2010)

Processed and maintained group retirement plans, ensuring accurate record-keeping, compliance with regulations, and timely distribution of benefits to plan participants. EDUCATION & LICENSES

BA, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, New Brunswick, NJ (2005)

Major: Psychology

Focus: Organizational Learning and Behavior

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Learning Management Systems, Digital Content Development Tools, Advanced Microsoft Suite (including basic VBA & macro programming), GRC Tools (OpenPages), Adobe Acrobat Pro, IBM Mainframe Applications, Qlik View, BOSS, Articulate (e-learning authoring tool), Data Visualization Tools

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