Dermot J. O'Brien

Executive Vice President, Human Resources

B.B.A., Pace University

Dermot J. O’Brien is Executive Vice President of Human Resources at TIAA-CREF and a member of the company’s Executive Management Team.

Mr. O’Brien joined TIAA-CREF in 2003 and oversees companywide human-resource strategy and execution for the company’s 7,500 employees. Understanding that the company’s talent is vital to serving our clients, he oversees the alignment of TIAA-CREF’s talent and business strategies. This includes the development and effective adoption of initiatives supporting our culture and values; employee rewards; talent assessment, development and deployment; and diversity and inclusion, among other areas.

He has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services in both institutional and retail businesses. At TIAA-CREF, his experience has included oversight of Corporate Services for four years, where he helped significantly reorganize the area and improve its work in corporate real estate and facilities, corporate security, administrative services and strategic sourcing. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, he held senior positions at Merrill Lynch & Co., including head of HR for Global Debt Markets. He started his financial services career at Morgan Stanley, where he spent nine years in various roles, including head of HR for Japan.

Mr. O’Brien is a founding member of the Human Resource-50 Group, an invitation-only, thought-leadership and knowledge-sharing group consisting of chief human resource officers from the world's most respected companies; the Personnel Round Table, an organization of senior Fortune 500 HR executives; and the CT Partners Annual Board of Directors Institute on Human Resources, which convenes annually to share ideas about current challenges facing corporations and boards. He also serves on the CT Partners Advisory Board and helps develop the Institute’s agenda and priorities.

Mr. O’Brien has volunteered with Junior Achievement for several years, teaching children the basics of financial literacy. A native of Dublin, Ireland, he holds an undergraduate degree in finance from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University, where he is a frequent guest lecturer.