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Friday, October 4, 2024

Honoring Our Partnership With MetLife

We at Breaking Ground are proud to honor Michel Khalaf, President and Chief Executive Officer, MetLife, at the 2024 Celebrating Home & Community Gala on October 10th, 2024.

MetLife and MetLife Foundation have been important partners in our work since Breaking Ground’s founding, providing key financing for the Times Square residence, our first permanent supportive residence and the largest of its kind in the U.S.

For over three decades, MetLife and MetLife Foundation’s philanthropic support has allowed us to make key enhancements to Breaking Ground’s programs and to develop new sources of earned revenue that support our mission to help people overcome and avoid homelessness. They were key supporters in establishing the Prince George Ballroom, our neo-classical event space co-located with the Prince George supportive residence. Since 2005, the Ballroom has provided a gorgeous space for tenant events and proceeds from its rental support Breaking Ground’s programs serving homeless New Yorkers.

Most recently, MetLife Foundation enabled us to bring an additional layer of privately funded street outreach to West Midtown Manhattan in the wake of the pandemic and have been a key supporter of the Homeless Assistance Fund of the Partnership for New York City, which dramatically expanded our privately funded outreach in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, MetLife Foundation has provided a key grant to establish the Tenant Resources Center at Park House in the Bronx, dedicated to helping families with children grow and thrive in an affordable home.

“For over thirty years, MetLife and MetLife Foundation’s grants and philanthropic investments have helped thousands of New Yorkers to restore their lives in housing with Breaking Ground,” said Brenda Rosen, President and CEO of Breaking Ground. “We are privileged to honor Michel Khalaf’s inspiring leadership and MetLife’s deep and enduring commitment to improving the lives of the most disadvantaged New Yorkers.”

Tickets and sponsorships for the 2024 Celebrating Home & Community Gala are now extremely limited. Please reach out to to Vanessa Miller for more information.


Michel Khalaf Square Web

Michel A. Khalaf
President and Chief Executive Officer
MetLife, Inc.

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 markets around the world and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2023, MetLife had approximately $67 billion in total revenues and ranks 54th on the FORTUNE 500®. Khalaf became president and CEO on May 1, 2019. Khalaf joined MetLife in 2010 as chief executive officer of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region when the company acquired Alico from AIG. In 2011, he joined MetLife’s Executive Leadership Team when he was named president of the 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 markets. 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 markets.

In 2019, Khalaf launched MetLife’s Next Horizon strategy, which is grounded in the company’s purpose – “Always with you, building a more confident future.” MetLife delivers for its customers and communities and creates long-term value for its shareholders. Khalaf champions MetLife’s inclusive culture to bring together different perspectives for meeting rising stakeholder expectations and serving as a force for good in the world.

Khalaf is vocal about the importance of teamwork in workplace culture. When speaking about empathy and collaboration, Khalaf compares his work at MetLife to that of a team sport: “I consider myself a teammate, and I’m proud and fortunate to work with a great team at MetLife.” Khalaf's commitment to amplifying diverse voices and collaboration drives a culture of belonging, engagement and high performance.

In Khalaf’s 21 years at Alico, he 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 operations 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 member of several boards, including the U.S.-China Business Council, the Geneva Association, and the Partnership for New York City.

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

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