Benefit pros on the move: Mercer, USI, Welltok and more make key appointments
October 11, 2017 8:09 PM
Executive moves
In this month’s agents on the move gallery, EBA presents the latest hirings and promotions inside the employee benefit arena. It was a busy time this past month. Tuition.io hired a pair of specialists to bolster its student loan repayment assistance team and Mercer hired a health business leader of its Carolinas office and a partner for its Minnesota office. USI also added a new employee benefit consultant and a junior account manager to its office in Independence, Ohio. In other Midwest news, Rosanna Milley is the new employee benefits producer in Lockton’s Kansas City office.
The start of fall also saw a key merger: Independent insurance brokerage and wealth management firm Alera Group acquired Zinn Insurance Agency. The Lebanon, Penn.-based Zinn provides custom plans to clients’ risk management challenges. According to Alera CEO Alan Levitz, “The Zinn Insurance team is a tremendous complement and fit for the collaborative culture, values and vision of Alera Group.”
There was quite a bit of movement in the corner offices of leading brokerage firms as well. Chris Power joined Welltok as its new chief financial officer, where he will lead the financial operations of high-growth companies. Plus, employee benefits veteran Lee Exton has stepped down from Mercer to join Venbrook Companies as its newest managing director. Finally, Northeast Business Group on Health has named Candice Sherman as its Interim CEO. Sherman succeeds industry veteran Laurel Pickering, who is leaving after nearly 25 years to become chief revenue officer at WellDoc, a digital health company.
The start of fall also saw a key merger: Independent insurance brokerage and wealth management firm Alera Group acquired Zinn Insurance Agency. The Lebanon, Penn.-based Zinn provides custom plans to clients’ risk management challenges. According to Alera CEO Alan Levitz, “The Zinn Insurance team is a tremendous complement and fit for the collaborative culture, values and vision of Alera Group.”
There was quite a bit of movement in the corner offices of leading brokerage firms as well. Chris Power joined Welltok as its new chief financial officer, where he will lead the financial operations of high-growth companies. Plus, employee benefits veteran Lee Exton has stepped down from Mercer to join Venbrook Companies as its newest managing director. Finally, Northeast Business Group on Health has named Candice Sherman as its Interim CEO. Sherman succeeds industry veteran Laurel Pickering, who is leaving after nearly 25 years to become chief revenue officer at WellDoc, a digital health company.
Scott R. Kline/SRK Headshot Day
Bracy exits Liberty Mutual Insurance for Tuition.io
Tuition.io, an employer-funded student loan repayment assistance platform, has named Danica Bracy to the role of senior director of partner success. Bracy will manage the company’s client portfolio. She has a decade of employee benefits experience in the insurance and financial services industries, such as Liberty Mutual Insurance and Prudential Financial.
USI adds Cunningham to Independence office
USI Insurance Services has added Michael Cunningham as an employee benefits consultant to its Independence, Ohio office. Previously, he was an account executive with Liazon, a private benefits exchange company. Cunningham also worked at Aflac as a district sales coordinator and has been vice president of the American SaddleBred Horse Association of Ohio.
Exton lands at Venbrook as managing director
Venbrook Companies has added employee benefits veteran Lee Exton as its newest managing director. His mission is to grow their benefits and total rewards division. Exton was most recently a principal at Mercer from May 2015 to Sept 2017 where he developed customized programs for large employer organizations and assisted his clients in considering private exchange solutions. Before that he was vice president of Keenan Assoc. and a healthcare practice leader at the Segal Company.
Donald Phelps
Mercer appoints Harten to health business leader for the Carolinas
Consulting firm Mercer has appointed Joe Harten as Carolina’s Office Leader for Mercer’s Health Business in its Charlotte office. He will report to Eric Grossman, market leader for health in the Eastern U.S. Harten will consult with clients in North and South Carolina and mentor colleagues in the Charlotte and Raleigh offices. Prior to joining Mercer, he served as a senior consultant with Towers Watson and spent 14 years in Deloitte’s Human Capital consulting practice.
USI adds Hyer as a junior account manager
Independence, Ohio office. Hyer is graduating in 2018 from Utah State University in Economics. Prior to joining USI, he was the campus sales lead for Utah State University Campus Store.
Alera Group acquires Zinn Insurance
Independent insurance brokerage and wealth management firm Alera Group has acquired Zinn Insurance Agency, which is based in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Zinn focuses on delivering tailored plans to clients’ risk management needs. “The Zinn Insurance team is a tremendous complement and fit for the collaborative culture, values and vision of Alera Group,” said Alan Levitz, CEO of Alera Group.
Milley joins Lockton as employee benefits producer
Rosanna Milley is the new employee benefits producer in Lockton’s Kansas City operation. Prior to joining Lockton, Milley worked at Huron Consulting Group with healthcare and higher education clients to improve their human resources performance. She also worked for Mercer Human Resources Consulting for 20 years, where she led a team of 32 consultants that produced solid year-over-year revenue growth.
Welltok appoints Power to the role of CFO
Chris Power joined Welltok as its new chief financial officer, where he will lead the financial operations of high-growth companies. Power most recently served as CFO of Paycor, and was previously CFO of LifeLock, where he oversaw the company’s IPO. Power served as CFO and in other senior executive roles at Salary.com, Monster Worldwide and Nortel Networks.
NEBGH names Sherman as Interim CEO
Northeast Business Group on Health has named Candice Sherman as Interim CEO. She succeeds Laurel Pickering, who is leaving after nearly 25 years to become chief revenue officer at WellDoc, a digital health company. Before this appointment, Sherman served as the firm’s chief operating officer. Sherman was COO of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center and served as a senior general management roles at TABB Group, Dun & Bradstreet and Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters), and was also COO at two Internet startups.
Simmons joins Tuition.io as COO, CFO
In a newly created joint COO/CFO position, Scott Simmons will oversee Tuition.io’s operational management and financial strategy. Simmons joins Tuition.io after almost four years with ShopRunner, where he acted as COO/CFO and oversaw the company’s retail and member network expansion. Previously, Simmons was with NexTag, an e-commerce company, where he served a number of roles including president. Before that, Simmons held senior financial and analyst positions with Real Time Data and Prudential Investment Corporation.
Sarah Pierce Photography
Vasko joins Mercer’s Minneapolis office as partner
Mercer has appointed Barb Vasko as partner for Mercer’s Health Business in its Minneapolis office. In her new role, she will help large market clients with their health and benefit plans. Vasko will report to Rey Balcazar, office business leader, health in the Central US. Prior to joining Mercer, Vasko served with Aon as the vice president for 14 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota.
