Search
our people
A Day in a New York Life: Corp. Communications’ Emma Clarke.
New York Life | December 5, 2024
The Day in a New York Life article series offers a look into the daily lives of employees: what they do, their career paths, what they find most interesting about their jobs, and how they spend their time outside of the office.
The Foundational Business team within Corporate Communications uses communication as a tool to support New York Life's Foundational Business, the part of the company that includes product and client prospecting organizations that support our agent-sold business, in achieving its goals.
In her role, Emma Clarke creates and executes communications plans that support our sales strategy and drive value for the Foundational Business. This includes managing media relations and some social media, as well as producing content for the newyorklife.com Newsroom and our employee intranet. She also assists with employee engagement, for example working with senior leaders on town halls.
Clarke’s main focus is on supporting communications for the product, sales, and prospecting areas within the Foundational Business. She also supports the publishing of Wealth Watch, New York Life’s signature thought leadership survey that runs every other month and provides a pulse on the state of Americans’ personal finances.
Clarke joined New York Life in December 2022 after building her career in the public relations and marketing agency world, where she worked with clients across the financial services industry. After almost a decade in the agency world, Clarke decided to go deep on just one business and experience work from the client perspective. I wasn’t sure where I would land, but when I started working here it all fell into place,” said Clarke. “I love learning about our business, working directly with senior leaders in the product groups and specialists across my department. Plus, the hybrid work schedule fits me perfectly. New York Life has really nailed work/life balance.”
Clarke says she loves storytelling and uncovering stories within a business. “Often, subject matter experts don’t think in terms of stories — they think in terms of results,” she said. “Positive media coverage helps our agents and advisors win business, and it’s rewarding to be able to show partners in the business how we can connect the dots to create a story that supports their strategic goals. Storytelling is also just a whole lot of fun!”
Clarke believes that mentorship is critical. Her most treasured mentors, she said, include someone who lives across the country from her, an ex-manager, and several coworkers-turned-friends. “A mentorship relationship doesn’t have to fit into a traditional model. I speak with one of my best mentors quarterly and we even sit on a board together, but our relationship has always been virtual,” she said. “You just need someone who can help you zoom out, offer perspective on your day-to-day, and act in your best interest as a professional.”
Clarke said the best piece of career advice she’s gotten is there is something to learn from every person around you. “If you don’t think you have something to learn, it’s time to get self-aware, become curious, and start asking questions,” she said.
When she’s not in the office, she enjoys spending time with her family and taking her two dogs to the park. She’s not short on hobbies either, and lists knitting, embroidery, photography, yoga, and reading as her favorites.
Clarke also sits on two boards where she provides pro-bono communications consultation and strategy: the Communications Executives Advisory Panel for the Museum of American Finance and the Associate Board for the Council for Economic Education.
A typical day in the life of Emma Clarke:
7:00 am:
I’m up and at ‘em with my two dogs at the park near where I live in Brooklyn. Starting my day with trees and animals, regardless of the weather, keeps me grounded.
9:00 am:
When I arrive at the office, I begin with an inbox cleanup addressing anything urgent right away, and a review of my to-do list. I prioritize the “must dos” and “nice to haves,” balanced against my meeting schedule.
9:30 am:
As a PR person, reading news is a required part of my job. I dive into my newsletters and open way too many tabs with stories to read. It’s how I contextualize my clients’ business within the broader market and come up with story ideas for our product lines and Wealth Watch data.
11:00 am:
I’m involved in two working groups for our department that are driving work for our team, aligned with Enterprise priorities: our Generative AI Working Group and our Process Improvement Working Group. I might be in a meeting for one of these groups, working on materials to keep our projects moving, discussing potential training opportunities with an external vendor, or something else, depending on what comes up that week.
12:30 pm:
If the weather is nice, I head out into the neighborhood to pick up lunch and take a stroll through Madison Square Park. If not, I head down to the cafeteria on 1B for my favorite veggie burger from the grill.
2:00 pm:
Depending on the day, I discuss PR strategy with our communications agency partners; staff a media interview with an executive; run mics at a town hall; meet with a product line or a marketing team about an upcoming launch; write messaging or content for an executive interview, bylined article, or social media post; create a project plan… or a combination of all of the above.
5:00 pm:
I love to hit the gym after work or take an extra-long stroll to a farther-away subway station. Then it’s back home to Brooklyn for a walk with the pups and dinner with my husband, Ibby. Oftentimes in the summer, we take a trip to Red Hook to watch the sunset.
RELATED CONTENT
Go back to our newsroom to read more stories.
Media contact
Kevin Maher
New York Life Insurance Company
(212) 576-7937
Kevin_B_Maher@newyorklife.com