2024 BPRO Luminaries-Humanizing Benefits

Design by Chris Nicholls

Illustration: xy/Adobe Stock

Rising Star

Leadership

Innovation & Technology

Industry Impact

Humanizing Benefits

Education & Communication

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Betterment at Work

Bentek

ARC Fertility

Humanizing Benefits (Organizations)

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Danae Goldsmith’s passion for mental health is deeply personal, borne from a lifelong struggle with anxiety and her experience as a parent of a transgender …

Danae Goldsmith Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships Workplace Options

Christy Doyle oversees all human resources, payroll and talent functions for multiple companies totaling 100 employees. She is responsible for hiring, …

Christy Doyle Chief People Officer Quality One Wireless

Marcus Capone, a former Navy Seal, founded TARA Mind PBC to help pioneer the concept of bringing emerging therapeutics like psychedelic-assisted therapy …

Marcus Capone Founder/CEO TARA Mind PBC

Andi Campbell is a champion of WellSpark’s goal of building a culture of wellbeing for clients through a whole-person approach to wellness rather than …

Andi Campbell President WellSpark Health

Humanizing Benefits (Individuals)

Jessica Tuman’s efforts to drive the benefits industry forward include focusing on employment extenders and disabled veterans, as well as other overlooked …

Jessica Tuman Vice President, Voya Cares Center of Excellence Voya Financial

For more than 30 years, health insurance advisor Naama Pozniak humanizes health care benefits through soul-soothing simplicity. Pozniak has made it her …

Naama O. Pozniak Founder & CEO Paz Holding Inc./RightPlan.com/A+ Insurance Service

Jennifer Paisley improves employee engagement and retention while offering resources that promote sustainable lifestyle changes for 10,000 employees in …

Jennifer Paisley VP of Total Rewards & HR Operations Valmont Industries Inc.

Angela Nelson, has been instrumental in building out the RethinkCares parenting solution, an employer-based offering that provides parent training led by …

Angela Nelson Executive Director of Clinical Services & VP of Operations RethinkFirst

Andi Campbell is a champion of WellSpark’s goal of building a culture of wellbeing for clients through a whole-person approach to wellness rather than implementing one-size-fits-all solutions. As president, Campbell directs the company’s strategic vision and guides sales, operations, program development and financial management. She has improved the company’s operational processes, including building an outreach center to further WellSpark’s mission of engaging hard-to-reach participants. Campbell is described as an innovative leader who is creative and empathetic. She plays an essential role in ensuring all aspects of WellSpark’s business work to provide solutions that make a difference in clients’ workplace cultures, benefiting business outcomes and employees alike. Thanks to her vision, a secondary school located in Connecticut increased employee participation in its compliance program from 30% in January 2023 to 84% in August 2023. By understanding the unique needs of the population and leaning into tailored solutions, WellSpark was able to drive results, leading to 80% of employees completing preventive care visits and screenings like cholesterol, breast cancer, and blood glucose or A1C.

Andi Campbell President WellSpark Health

Marcus Capone, a former Navy Seal, founded TARA Mind PBC to help pioneer the concept of bringing emerging therapeutics like psychedelic-assisted therapy and ketamine-assisted therapy to employees who need it for mental health and wellbeing. As CEO, Capone devotes time to building connections with health care providers and research institutions, looking for opportunities to grow the company. In addition, he works closely with the firm’s legal team to ensure all activities are safe, compliant and ethical, and he collaborates with medical experts to develop treatment programs that are safe, effective and affordable. Capone is also chairman and co-founder of VETS: Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, a 501(c)(3) organization providing resources, research and advocacy for veterans seeking alternative mental health treatments. He is a frequent guest speaker and advocate of these therapies for veterans and non-veterans and believes they are the future of mental health care. Capone started his career in finance at Merrill Lynch and later became a VP at Fortress Investment Group before co-founding a boutique risk management consulting firm.

Marcus Capone Founder/CEO TARA Mind PBC

Christy Doyle oversees all human resources, payroll and talent functions for multiple companies totaling 100 employees. She is responsible for hiring, onboarding, managing, developing and retaining employees. Doyle’s creativity and innovation have earned her multiple promotions during her two decades with the company. One of her greatest accomplishments is transforming the company’s medical program, saving the company $1.9 million. Doyle has also planned onsite wellness clinics, vaccinations, and free dental cleanings for employees and works to bring creative events onsite to boost morale. These include Take Your Dog to Work days, Breast Cancer Awareness events to help employees going through treatment, and fundraising efforts. Doyle often goes above and beyond when advocating for employees. In one case, she personally helped an employee fighting breast cancer find a local facility where she could have specialized MRI imaging done under the company’s insurance program.

Christy Doyle Chief People Officer Quality One Wireless

Danae Goldsmith’s passion for mental health is deeply personal, borne from a lifelong struggle with anxiety and her experience as a parent of a transgender child with mental health challenges. This empathetic perspective and personal connection drives her dedication to creating meaningful and effective support systems for employees. As senior director of partnership at Workplace Options, she oversees the provision of employee support and work-life services, including EAP counseling, stress management, wellness programs, and consultations on dependent care, as well as legal and financial issues. Leveraging more than 16 years of experience, Goldsmith optimizes go-to-market strategies, enhances revenue streams and makes data-driven decisions. She secured the largest B2B sale in her company’s 40-year history, and designed and implemented several innovative mental health and wellbeing programs. Goldsmith was honored with the 2024 Global Recognition Award for her exceptional achievements in the wellness industry. This accolade highlights her dedication to enhancing employee mental health and wellbeing, showcasing her impact on the benefits and health care space. Goldsmith has also contributed to thought leadership by participating in industry events and speaking engagements.

Danae Goldsmith Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships Workplace Options

Angela Nelson, has been instrumental in building out the RethinkCares parenting solution, an employer-based offering that provides parent training led by master- and doctorate-level behavioral clinicians at scale. Dr. Nelson leads clinical initiatives and directly supports families, including one-on-one consultations with parents of neurodivergent and neurotypical children across the globe on topics like behavioral strategies, skills development and self-care. Dr. Nelson is the executive director of clinical services and VP of operations for RethinkCare, a RethinkFirst company providing evidence-based solutions that support neurodiversity in the workplace and at home. Dr. Nelson also guides RethinkCare’s professional solution, which provides tailored content and training on neurodiversity, accommodations and self-advocacy. Under Dr. Nelson’s leadership, 83% of employees say that resources accessed through RethinkCare helped reduce their stress or anxiety. Dr. Nelson also conducts in-depth industry research to help employers understand the value neurodivergent employees bring to the workforce and educates leaders on how to better support these individuals. Among the new offerings she has spearheaded are monthly virtual discussion groups for parents led by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). These intimate groups provide a social setting for parents to share advice, seek support and discuss common parenting challenges related to neurodivergence.

Angela Nelson Executive Director of Clinical Services & VP of Operations RethinkFirst

Jennifer Paisley improves employee engagement and retention while offering resources that promote sustainable lifestyle changes for 10,000 employees in 23 countries. She leads the design and development of Valmont’s comprehensive benefits package, oversees multichannel communications, and manages the implementation and deployment of benefits and services, integrating feedback from employees and family members to ensure benefits meet their needs effectively. Under her leadership, Valmont adopted multiple digital solutions and launched a one-stop-shop application for all HR services, benefits and holistic wellness focusing on personalization through digital and one-on-one coaching, wellness challenges and overall health and wellbeing. In 2023, more than 1,000 employees enrolled in the proprietary digital one-stop-shop platform. Active users have grown by approximately 50%, leveraging the technology to access benefits and services whenever and wherever they need them. And growth continues, with Valmont on track to see a 24% increase in platform utilization this year.

Jennifer Paisley VP of Total Rewards & HR Operations Valmont Industries Inc.

For more than 30 years, health insurance advisor Naama Pozniak humanizes health care benefits through soul-soothing simplicity. Pozniak has made it her mission to encourage employers, colleagues, carriers, and individuals to adopt a holistic, 360-degree approach to health. She has been leading, teaching and enhancing benefits and health care communities by implementing meditation and yoga for more than a decade. She elevates these benefits at every level, promoting harmony, increasing focus and fostering deep, heart-centered connections not just among her clients and team, but among colleagues and industries all over the world. Externally, she has led meditation at open events and conferences all over the world, including the BenefitsPRO Broker Expo. The company sends out a monthly newsletter to clients and colleagues in which she discusses the humanization of benefits and she also works to move health care and benefits into the blockchain and enhance the opportunity for diversity and inclusion.

Naama O. Pozniak Founder & CEO Paz Holding Inc./RightPlan.com/A+ Insurance Service

Jessica Tuman’s efforts to drive the benefits industry forward include focusing on employment extenders and disabled veterans, as well as other overlooked and underserved groups of employees, including those with disabilities or who are caregivers of children with disabilities and aging family members. She accomplishes this mission through the Voya Cares Center of Excellence, which she built from the ground up. Under her leadership, the Voya Cares program has launched two original thought leadership research projects that focus on making underserved communities in the workforce more aware of employer-provided benefits and helping employers understand the needs of these underserved communities. As a key spokesperson for this proprietary research, she was highly visible in financial and trade media last year. Early in 2024, she led the launch of a second primary proprietary research project with Easterseals, examining disabled veterans in the workforce, as well as their caregivers — a key overlooked and underserved segment of the workforce.

Jessica Tuman Vice President, Voya Cares Center of Excellence Voya Financial

The Health Benefit Alliance LLC

TARA Mind

Redirect Health

Planstin Administration

Parento

Lyra Health

Imagine360

Health Action Council

Ethos Benefits

Curative

Focused on helping people achieve their dreams of building a family, ARC Fertility offers a range of family-forming benefits to employees regardless of socioeconomic background, relationship status, sexual orientation or gender identity. The company was founded in 1997 and is led by CEO David Adamson MD. ARC’s flexible fertility packages are available nationwide and offer high-quality benefits at the lowest possible cost that adhere to evidence-based medical care. Employees working for organizations participating in the ARC Fertility Employer program can use the FertilityNow app to review the benefits provided by their employer, including coverage options for treatment, medications, egg freezing and genetic testing. The app recently received recognition as a Merit Winner for Mobile Digital Health Resources – Mobile Application in the 2024 Digital Health Awards, an award that honors the best in digital health resources and applications. ARC programs go beyond traditional benefits to encompass support services from pregnancy and lactation assistance to early parenthood and return-to-work initiatives. To date, ARC has supported 2.4 million individuals and helped 80,000 achieve their dream of having a family.

ARC Fertility

Bentek was created out of necessity in 2006, when a Florida insurance broker needed a solution for a school district struggling with its benefits administration. The team devised a system that streamlined the process, tailored specifically to the unique needs of educational and governmental employers. Over the next 20 years, Bentek evolved into a stand-alone organization, driven by a commitment to helping others and placing clients at the forefront. Led by president Julie Fink, Bentek provides a single platform for benefits enrollment, management and education that capitalizes on automation, integration and engagement. The firm works with clients to customize the solution to meet their needs. Bentek’s focus on simplifying the client experience has led to a net promoter score of +84, nearly 50 points above the industry average. In addition, customer satisfaction is 95% and client retention is 98.5%. Bentek hosts workshops to create a community of engaged users and provides a forum for sharing tips and tricks for working in the Bentek platform. These workshops are valuable opportunities to break communication silos and connect with other benefits professionals.

Bentek

Betterment at Work maintains a holistic approach to enhancing financial wellness and retirement readiness for employees in an easy-to-manage platform. Led by CEO Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, the company offers customizable portfolios, debt management tools and easy-to-understand advice. From a detailed, human onboarding process and personalized support, to plan sponsor training and employee education, Betterment at Work helps employees make the most of their retirement plans and build financial wellness. As part of its compliance initiatives, Betterment at Work launched a SECURE Act hub to help clients navigate the new legislation and has also pioneered new tools to support the adoption of SECURE Act 2.0 provisions around auto-enrollment, Eligible Automatic Contribution Arrangement, and auto-escalation. Since 2021, Betterment at Work has administered an annual barometer of retirement readiness and financial wellness to provide insights to the retirement industry and benefits sector, shedding light on the needs of employees and helping maintain awareness of financial wellness.

Betterment at Work

Led by CEO Fred Turner, Curative prioritizes people over profits with a holistic approach to the wellbeing of its members through personalized guidance, proactive care and innovative programs. The firm recognizes that health care is fundamentally personal and that each member deserves a customized and caring approach. It has accomplished this by integrating care navigators into its health plan to provide members with a human touch point in the often complex health benefits space. Curative also promotes routine health services, screenings and regular checkups to encourage members to prioritize their health and wellbeing. Curative’s Baseline Visit initiative sets a foundation for the holistic health journey and has helped members discover health issues such as diabetes and cancer, allowing for early treatment. In addition, it supports positive lifestyle changes through access to health management programs like Noom, ClassPass, and H-E-B Wellness Nutrition Services. Curative also aims for transparency in pharmacy transfers and prescription coverage and offers assistance in navigating pharmacy benefits.

Curative

Each Ethos Benefits team member believes their job of advocating for employees starts when a carrier or provider tells them “no.” Over the past two years, Ethos Benefits has implemented several new initiatives, including Care Coach, a program targeted at assisting clients during their first two years of a reference-based pricing strategy. Each company has a dedicated phone number they can text or call for support, and the system handles tasks including setting appointments, verifying coverage, billing support, EOB assistance, claims advocacy, and direct communication to provider offices. The team also created a communication plan that educates employees on reference-based pricing (RBP), care navigation, and international drug sourcing using short engaging videos and simple text messages. This strategy resulted in one employee receiving help navigating cancer treatment and related benefits, all because she initially texted to cancel her benefits. Instead of simply processing the cancellation, the Ethos team member kept the request open and continued to follow up with the employee until she completed treatment and was able to return to work.

Ethos Benefits

Health Action Council is a member-driven, not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating healthier communities and workforces. It represents employers through group purchasing, education, and best practices that improve the quality, cost and value of health care. For example, Health Action Council uses member data to identify factors contributing to employee health conditions that affect productivity and profitability and provides tools to promote health literacy and wellbeing. One example is Findtherightcare.org, which helps employees navigate health care options and make informed decisions about where to get the best care for their symptoms at the right time and the right price. Other initiatives include Healthy Kids, which educates and encourages healthy habits for children to thrive and avoid chronic conditions; Leapfrog, which informs health care consumers on the safety of hospital and ambulatory surgery centers; and the Step It Up Challenge, which promotes health and camaraderie in the workplace and community through a no-cost four-week step program. Since its inception in the spring of 2022, the Spring Employer Step It Up Challenge has grown from 658 participants to 804 participants and more than 156 million total steps. The Health Action Council is led by President and CEO Patty Starr.

Health Action Council

Imagine360 is transforming employer-sponsored health care and benefits by elevating the customer experience, educating employers and brokers about health plan solutions, reducing costs for businesses, and saving the average community member from having to make difficult financial decisions surrounding care. Led by president and CEO Jeff Bak, Imagine360 advocates for its members to ensure they aren’t paying more than they should. The company’s innovative payment model includes preferential contracting with providers and health systems and price protection through reference-based pricing, saving employers 15% to 30% on average compared to national carriers. With more than 17 years of experience and 25 million months of member data, Imagine360 uses advanced technology and AI to offer care coordination and medical management that proactively guides members through the complexities of health care. In one case, Imagine360 helped an employee’s spouse search for specific durable medical equipment and address billing concerns with providers, including resolving a $35,000 bill. Customer service features include around-the-clock scheduling support and a physician portfolio of more than 500,000 contracted providers. In 2023, the company delivered nearly $1.5 billion in health care savings to employers.

Imagine360

Founded in 2015, Lyra Health provides workplace mental health benefits, offering life-changing access to therapy, coaching and medication management. Its services include Lyra Care Therapy, a clinically proven approach that combines video therapy sessions with personalized, between-session provider support and digital activities to help people improve mental health faster. Lyra Care uses AI-powered provider matching to connect members to a large network of mental health providers, helps members find the right clinician, and matches members’ specific needs with the provider’s specialties. Once connected, members can communicate with their clinicians through various digital means, including messaging, video calls and interactive exercises. The company also recently introduced Lyra Care for Teens, a specialized service for adolescents that offers evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Connie Chen, COO and chief medical officer, oversees clinical, product, and operations; David Ebersman, co-founder and CEO, leads the company.

Lyra Health

Parento

With obstacles like escalating costs, complicated requirements and a limited number of options offering employee benefits, third-party administrator Planstin Administration focuses on simplifying and customizing health plans to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. By using lesser-known and nontraditional options, combined with technical innovations and self-managed platforms, Planstin has made benefits programs possible for small businesses that wouldn’t offer more typical benefits to their employees. A trucking company in Idaho signed up with Planstin in May 2024 and was able to save nearly $750,000 in annual premiums for benefits while also increasing employee enrollments by 10%. Planstin uses the same tools to help larger companies offer plans that are compliant with government requirements while making their benefits program more affordable to the company and employees. Planstin has grown to nearly 30,000 members this year, up 20% from last year. The company, founded in 2016, is led by president and CEO Nathan Udy.

Planstin Administration

Redirect Health, led by co-founder and CEO David Berg, has built a highly personalized health care plan that makes access to care affordable and on-demand, providing 24/7 customer service and compassionate care dedicated to improving the participant experience. The company’s goal is to ensure someone answers every member call in under 30 seconds. By integrating technology, the firm has created a seamless experience with a streamlined member application that provides on-demand access to a range of health care services, including 24/7 telehealth visits and appointment scheduling. Members can text the team or access health care services within the Redirect Health Member App, including while speaking with benefits experts, medical providers and care navigation. Redirect Health removes copays on all routine in-office and virtual care with low deductibles for hospitalization. Redirect Health is dedicated to a goal of no more than 4.5% annual premium increases and its net promoter score of 58.9 exceeds the industry average of 29.

Redirect Health

TARA Mind is a public benefit corporation that partners with employers across the country to offer safe, legal and effective ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) as a covered insurance benefit for employees who struggle with treatment-resistant depression. Although KAT has been shown to reduce depression symptoms, it typically is not covered by insurance, putting the cost of treatment out of reach for most people. TARA Mind offers benefit coverage for KAT, giving employees access to a specialized network of licensed therapists and medical doctors who follow an evidence-based protocol tailored to each individual’s needs. The firm has reached several milestones, including raising $11 million to expand affordable access to the therapy. It also launched a first-of-its-kind free KAT training program to over 400 providers in the U.S. Its Synapse platform connects doctors, therapists and employees to schedule, bill, take notes, coordinate care and share insights to improve outcomes. TARA Mind was founded in 2022 by Marcus Capone, a veteran Navy SEAL who struggled with his own mental health after returning home from years of combat.

TARA Mind

Led by president Matt Esposito, The Health Benefit Alliance LLC is committed to removing barriers to health care by empowering organizations to create and maintain their own group health plans in an efficient and compliant manner. HBA focuses largely on groups and individuals challenged by under-representation, overpricing, and high premiums and deductibles that leave them functionally uninsured. HBA designs ERISA and Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant plans for the millions of workers who have found it challenging to access health care, including 74% of non-elderly adult Americans who want coverage but can’t afford it due to plan complexity and high premiums. These plans appeal to a diverse labor force with varied needs, from employees seeking convenient, low-cost options to those who value the extensive coverage of a platinum plan. HBA has onboarded and supported more than 300 individual broker companies and has installed more than 1,000 cases with special HBA consolidated premiums that include various products within one service offering.

The Health Benefit Alliance LLC

Led by Dirk Doebler, founder and CEO, Parento’s core mission is providing a personalized and affordable parental leave experience for every working parent. Its mix-and-match offerings allow employees and their partners to plan and manage upcoming parental leaves at their pace or with the guidance of personal parent coaches. The company provides self-paced worksheets and access to group coaching sessions for every stage of parenting, focusing on the transition to and from leave. To further support all employees and different lifestyles, the program is gender-neutral and equitable for all, especially LGBTQ+ parents who are often left without paid parental leave coverage. In February 2024, Parento launched the Parent to Champion toolkit, an advocacy toolkit for parents to advance parental leave policies with their employer. To further advance employee support and impact in parental leave, Parento is organizing Parental Leave Summit, its first, a one-day conference.

Design by Chris Nicholls

Illustration: xy/Adobe Stock

Rising Star

Leadership

Innovation & Technology

Industry Impact

Humanizing Benefits

Education & Communication

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Brook West was drawn to the health care industry because of a desire to make a significant difference in people’s daily lives and long-term outcomes. A …

Brook B. West Chief Commercial Officer Carrum Health

Nori Nishida brings a record of exceptional leadership and strategic vision, including developing an agency from the ground up by working with local …

Nori Nishida President and Founder Alliance 360° Insurance Solutions

Industry Impact (Individuals)

Emotional Vaccines

Brightside

Industry Impact (Organizations)

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Nori Nishida brings a record of exceptional leadership and strategic vision, including developing an agency from the ground up by working with local communities and eventually expanding nationwide. As president of Alliance 360° Insurance Solutions, he is responsible for ensuring seamless daily operations, implementing business strategies, managing the firm’s resources, and ensuring a cross-collaborative culture to work toward the common goal of client care. Nishida — who is also CEO of Ori-gen, a collective of companies that supports community and minority-owned businesses through services like insurance — has been recognized as a top performer by leading insurance companies such as Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Health Net, and Kaiser. Whether working with first-time parents, Medicare recipients, or employee groups, he strives to ensure that all feel safe and secure in their coverage. Through his continued personalized client solutions and his commitment to both his clients and his staff, Nishida significantly contributes to improving overall access to a resilient health care and benefits experience.

Nori Nishida President and Founder Alliance 360° Insurance Solutions

Brook West was drawn to the health care industry because of a desire to make a significant difference in people’s daily lives and long-term outcomes. A personal experience allowed her to see the value of access to an ethical, high-quality provider and continues to fuel her motivation to make appropriate, affordable care accessible through the employers Carrum serves. Her work at the company has led to partnerships with Fortune 50, 100, and 500 clients, and her experience in commercializing health tech and SaaS products, along with a knack for translating complex themes into digestible content, has made West a go-to for valuable digital health insights. She leads enterprise sales, business growth, and market expansion strategies at Carrum, while also overseeing a growing team of about 40 colleagues in strategy, sales, marketing, communications, and consulting. Carrum’s roster of employer clients has grown dramatically since West stepped into her role, and she leads by example through her work ethic, dedication to the company’s mission, and desire to mentor and support those around her.

Brook B. West Chief Commercial Officer Carrum Health

Brightside created the “financial care” category in employee benefits to help resolve employees’ unique financial challenges in their moments of need. While serving frontline employees at top Fortune 500 organizations, the company is on a mission to improve the financial health of working families and help income go further for the 7 in 10 Americans living paycheck to paycheck. Brightside’s financial assistants, proprietary rules engine, and innovative products have helped thousands of people improve emergency savings and reduce debt — resulting in improved productivity, retention, and workforce diversity while also lowering health care costs. People of color and women have historically been disproportionately impacted by financial stress, and Brightside’s Financial Care model is built to solve some of those inequities for innovative employers. To date, Brightside has put roughly $41 million back in the pockets of participating employees by saving families an average of $1,200 annually and reducing credit card debt three times faster than non-participants.

Brightside

The Emotional Vaccines® program is the first of its kind to create a public health policy for mitigating mental health challenges. This simple series of short educational videos and more than 1,000 practical tips are jargon-free, easy to distribute, and culturally diverse. With the help of founder Dr. Rahul Mehra, the videos are strategically designed to educate viewers about stress and anxiety before they develop into a more complicated clinical diagnosis. One school using the videos reduced employee turnover from 18% in 2020 to 9% in 2021 to under 5% in 2022, and the reduction in employees who require mental health medication has dropped 50% in the past three years. This program led to Mehra receiving the 2023 “Philanthropist of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award” from Tampa Bay Business & Wealth magazine. Today, more than four years after the pandemic began, there remains a lack of targeted prevention when it comes to mental health issues. Emotional Vaccines® claims to be “the tool everyone is looking for that too few even know exists.”

Emotional Vaccines

Design by Chris Nicholls

Illustration: xy/Adobe Stock

Rising Star

Leadership

Innovation & Technology

Industry Impact

Humanizing Benefits

Education & Communication

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Green Circle Life

Espresa Inc.

Empara

Cohere Health

Carrum Health

Agility Innovation Partners LLC

Innovation & Technology (Organizations)

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As a Market Leader in Wisconsin, Lisa Metcalf oversees the Gallagher team’s growth and consulting strategy for large and jumbo organizations. She also …

Lisa Metcalf Area Executive VP, Market Leader Gallagher

Matt Marze is responsible for developing New York Life’s Group Benefit Solutions’ (GBS) technology vision and executing a comprehensive technology strategy …

Matt Marze VP and Chief Information Officer New York Life Group Benefit Solutions

Ryan Kelly leads Capital Rx’s software development and IT teams, and has helped catapult the antiquated systems of the PBM industry into the 21st century. As …

Ryan Kelly Chief Technology Officer Capital Rx

Curtis Howell oversees the product vision, user experience, feature development, and product demos for the Nava Benefits App, which gives employees an …

Curtis P. Howell Director of Product Management Nava Benefits

Innovation & Technology (Individuals)

Curtis Howell oversees the product vision, user experience, feature development, and product demos for the Nava Benefits App, which gives employees an easy way to access and manage their benefits, as well as the answers and support they need when they need it. Howell led the company’s go-to-market strategy for the app, which integrates seamlessly with benefits administration systems to drive return on investment and reduce administrative work for human resources teams. Since its launch in 2023, tens of thousands of employees have used the Nava Benefits App to access benefits information, find health care providers, and resolve complex insurance issues. With a 98% member satisfaction score, the app has transformed the benefits experience from a source of frustration to one of appreciation, saving HR teams an average of 15 hours a month. Among the app’s features are streamlined open enrollment, a provider search, digital identification cards, billing and claims support, benefits guides, and benefits communication.

Curtis P. Howell Director of Product Management Nava Benefits

Ryan Kelly leads Capital Rx’s software development and IT teams, and has helped catapult the antiquated systems of the PBM industry into the 21st century. As the company’s co-founder, he’s also directly responsible for the creation and launch of JUDI®, Capital Rx’s proprietary next-generation enterprise health platform that ties all pharmacy benefit workflows into one efficient and scalable system. Capital Rx began with fewer than 10 employees; today, Kelly is responsible for a distributed team of more than 100 developers, product leaders, innovation, enterprise solutions, and engineering and data management professionals in several states. In 2024, one of the team’s biggest projects was building a Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P) solution to comply with new requirements from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Under Kelly’s leadership, Capital Rx built a standalone, turnkey, end-to-end solution within JUDI and delivered it to market in a matter of weeks. Kelly is capable of developing practical, forward-thinking solutions to business problems, but he also can roll up his sleeves and write code with the best coders in the world.

Ryan Kelly Chief Technology Officer Capital Rx

Matt Marze is responsible for developing New York Life’s Group Benefit Solutions’ (GBS) technology vision and executing a comprehensive technology strategy aligned with the company’s objectives. This entails overseeing the selection, implementation, continuous improvement, and operation of technology systems and infrastructure while also ensuring the security and integrity of the organization’s data and information systems. As a member of GBS’s Executive Leadership Team, Marze collaborates with peers to identify avenues to further the company’s technology vision, and he co-chairs GBS’s annual investment portfolio of strategic initiatives. Throughout New York Life’s acquisition of Cigna Group Insurance, he spearheaded the GBS Technology workstream, effectively concluding the transition services agreement with Cigna for 86 GBS IT-owned applications and over 200 business tools during the summer of 2023. His entrepreneurial mindset and visionary outlook mitigated transition risks and propelled GBS’s technology strategy forward by establishing a new GBS “data center” in the Amazon Web Services Cloud. This initiative, pivotal to GBS’s business strategy, has enhanced agility, flexibility, scalability and speed.

Matt Marze VP and Chief Information Officer New York Life Group Benefit Solutions

As a Market Leader in Wisconsin, Lisa Metcalf oversees the Gallagher team’s growth and consulting strategy for large and jumbo organizations. She also drives the overall strategy the company’s consultants bring to clients, tailoring solutions to meet each client’s needs. This includes plan structure, contract negotiation, partnership solutions, network and pharmacy reviews, communication and total rewards consulting, and more. With her leadership, the team delivers innovative, effective strategies that address complex challenges — ultimately enhancing client satisfaction and fostering long-term partnerships. Over the past 12 months, Metcalf has led the effort to move clients to next-generation health plans. This includes bringing technology, employee experience, and financial and risk modeling together for a more sustainable and successful benefit program. She was part of a team that placed multiple clients on a new technology-forward health plan that resulted in an average of 10% savings for employee spend and between 50% and 65% out-of-pocket savings for employees. Metcalf is a versatile consultant with a deep understanding of vendors, technology, compliance, communications, and employee engagement.

Lisa Metcalf Area Executive VP, Market Leader Gallagher

Agility Innovation Partners boasts a team of health care veterans dedicated to solving the industry’s cost crisis through transparency, health data analytics, and direct contracting innovations. The company educates employers on how to take control of their health plan costs, as well as assists with Consolidated Appropriations Act and fiduciary compliance. It works with several partners to bring these and other innovative solutions to benefit advisors, plan sponsors and health care aggregators. Agility Innovation Partners also created Health Plan Fiduciary Guides (HPfid) to help benefits teams and advisors navigate the hidden fiduciary risks of health plan sponsorship and build strategies to protect plan assets and fiduciaries. Most recently, Agility partnered with Smith Medical to launch direct-pay surgical care services in Colorado, which brings care from top surgeons along with fair and fully transparent cash-based pricing. The focus is on transparency to ensure patients are aware of costs upfront, with all fees combined in package pricing, so that patients have clarity regarding rates with no fear of future surprise billing.

Agility Innovation Partners LLC

Carrum Health is a leading value-based Center of Excellence (COE) solution that bundles everything necessary for the delivery of high-quality surgical and cancer care — including all provider, facility, and drug fees — into a single pre-negotiated price. Every provider throughout the care continuum is incentivized to ensure patients never receive a surprise bill or experience delays/canceled procedures. All procedures, including musculoskeletal, cardiac, bariatric surgeries, and cancer treatments come with warranties from the provider. Carrum’s cancer bundles deliver plan savings of up to 30% and $0 out-of-pocket for members. Carron’s plug-and-play technology enables rapid implementation and seamless ecosystem integration, making it turnkey ready within weeks, and an app provides immediate connection with a dedicated Carrum Health care specialist. The company’s providers are consistently in the top 10% of national rankings, and Carrum’s proprietary quality evaluation methodology is designed to identify top-notch health care facilities and physicians. Carrum is now used by more than 350 employer groups, ranging from large enterprises to public entities and self-insured employers.

Carrum Health

Prior authorization remains a tedious and costly burden for physicians and health plans, and it often delays needed patient care. Cohere Health solves this problem by digitizing the entire prior authorization process to enable coordinated management for patients. Cohere’s prior-authorization platform combines responsible AI, machine learning, deep clinical expertise, and real-time data to simplify and expedite approval for patient care. This solution digitizes authorization requests, automatically applies rules to adjudicate the request, and returns a response to the provider in real time. AI-driven “nudges” help providers make requests in line with administrative and clinical policies, increasing the likelihood of instant approval. Over the past year, Cohere’s platform has enabled 70% faster access to appropriate care for patients, saved 32,400 clinical review hours annually for a single health plan client, and automatically and instantly approved up to 80% of prior authorization requests. Cohere has achieved an industry-leading 90% platform adoption by providers of the company’s digital solution versus fax and other manual submission methods, and boasts a 91% satisfaction rate among providers utilizing the platform.

Cohere Health

Empara develops mission-driven health care technology with the intent to make health care accessible, affordable and seamless. As the tech arm of Goodroot, Embara is billed as “a community of companies reinventing health care one system at a time.” Empara’s Health Engagement Platform integrates a group’s preferred vendors into one streamlined platform to offer members real-time opportunities for cost savings, benefit support and a robust messaging center where experts or service providers assist in guiding their health care journeys. Organizations can deploy their custom-configured benefit strategies with the company’s consumer-grade member technology, and the adaptable platform easily scales to meet the demands of benefits administrators and become the primary tool to engage with members, onboard and renew groups, and promote cost-saving solutions. At the center of Empara’s groundbreaking interface is Em, an adaptable and customizable AI virtual assistant. Similar in functionality to ChatGPT or Gemini, Em knows specific plan, company benefit, and spend information. It can also answer general questions about health care benefits to help people better understand concepts like coinsurance or how deductibles work.

Empara

Companies must continually innovate to offer compelling workplace benefits and experiences that attract and retain top talent. Creating inclusive benefits on a large scale presents a significant challenge, necessitating automation while preserving the quality of human interaction. Espresa leads the industry by offering what it calls the first globally flexible platform that allows for seamless integration and customization to meet specific organizational needs. Espresa’s modular platform empowers human resources and people teams to create tailored, scalable benefits programs. Companies can customize their approach with Espresa’s diverse offerings, which include lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs), comprehensive wellbeing solutions, employee recognition programs, and community-building tools. These can be implemented individually, combined, or fully integrated using LSA Plus™. Operating in over 80 countries, Espresa supports more than 130 languages and all currencies, incorporating purchasing power parity to ensure equitable benefits across different regions. Espresa’s LSA Plus has set industry benchmarks with leading participation and adoption rates among global workforces, and 84% of its LSAs are tailored to meet the needs of dispersed employee bases.

Espresa Inc.

Green Circle Life (GCL) provides SmartFHR™, an all-in-one engagement platform that aggregates employee-facing human resources, communication, wellness, and health care services. It allows employees and family members to access company news, resources, benefits, and HR services, as well as to engage with digital health and wellbeing programs via the internet or mobile app. SmartFHR™ consistently scores high in ease-of-use ratings and is powered by a cloud-based system that allows employers to build an HR digital ecosystem that gives employers the power to negotiate with all benefits vendors based on actual data and usage analysis. One employer with more than 100,000 employees and more than 80% active users reports that health and wellness engagement has significantly improved, leading to better health, lower costs and higher productivity. Each user averages five logins per month, and more than 80% utilize the mobile app. In 2024, GCL introduced Healthy Weight for Life (HWFL), a weight-loss program for employees that combines the use of prescription weight loss medication with personalized behavioral therapy.

Green Circle Life