Ensuring Your Compliance Role Matches the Moment with Jay Cohen (Ep. 18)

In this episode of Compliance Chronicles, Liisa Thomas talks with Jay Cohen about what it really means to lead compliance in a global insurance business, and why activity alone doesn’t prove an effective compliance program. Jay shares his journey from 20 years in New York government (including 10 years as a prosecutor in Brooklyn) into legal and regulatory compliance roles at a variety of companies including Prudential, Assurant, and ultimately QBE Insurance.He explains how he “fell into” compliance during a nationwide class action and multi‑state regulatory investigation at Prudential, where his first assignment was telling offices around the country to keep boxes and boxes of files. From there, he moved into health insurance and leadership roles, eventually becoming a chief compliance officer and consultant before stepping into his current role at QBE.This episode covers:Why regulatory compliance feels similar to appellate work: understanding the rules, telling the story, and helping business teams make those rules work in practiceJay’s “pre and post” philosophy of compliance: knowing which rules apply and knowing whether the organization is actually following themThe challenge of rules that are constantly changing, not always practical, and sometimes at odds with what the business wants to doThe partner vs. guardian dilemma, inspired by Ben Heineman’s work: knowing when to support the business and when to protect it, and getting the business to understand whyWhy counting training sessions, policies, or helpline calls doesn’t truly measure compliance effectivenessHow to focus on whether changes are communicated, implemented, and whether they stick in daily operationsThe importance of getting out of your office, spending time with business teams, and building relationships so people know and trust you when you say “partner” or “guardian”Assuming positive intent, especially when teams resist or push back, and using that resistance as a cue to listen and recalibrateWhy compliance is a “terrific way to make a living” if you care about understanding, analysis, communication, and helping companies do the right thingIf you enjoyed this episode of Compliance Chronicles, please consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review—it helps others discover the show and supports more conversations with leaders across privacy, risk, and compliance. Follow Compliance Chronicles on your favorite podcast platform (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and more) and connect with Liisa on LinkedIn so you don’t miss future episodes.