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Partner
Aon Hewitt, Lincolnshire, Ill.

A Gliding Path

When large multinationals seek relief in switching from defined benefit retirement plans to defined contribution retirement plans, Aon Hewitt's Tom Carswell is the man they turn to.

Carswell has plenty of industry knowledge, but it's really in his role as a strategic manager and a coordinator of Aon Hewitt's vast resources where Chevron and other blue chip names like Johnson Controls have found they can trust Carswell to help them take ownership in de-risking their retirement portfolios.

Carswell prides himself on being a listener who doesn't try to find a problem in need of a solution. Balancing the obligation that company workers be comfortable in their retirement against the drag that pension liabilities can create on a company's earnings means setting the client on a "glide path" that will gradually, over time, take prior unrecognized losses into retained earnings and reduce the drag on earnings going forward.

It's not an easy task. The work means taking into account both the current funded status of the plans and providing some clarity into the direction of future interest rates.

"I would definitely recommend him. He is knowledgeable and he is client focused," said Ken Hwang, senior actuary for Chevron.

For Steve Mielke, the assistant treasurer for Johnson Controls Inc., Carswell had not only the technical knowledge he needed to manage his retirement portfolio, but knew who else to call in. "Tom is a really smart guy but where he brought value to us was in bringing in the right team," Mielke said.

Executive Vice President
HUB International, Del Mar, Calif.

Experience Will Tell

If you're trying to get a better deal for someone in the area of their employee benefits and you are going up against HUB International Executive Vice President Thom Freismuth you better be very good, or very lucky.

"It is his integrity, his honesty, his knowledge of the market and his knowledge of me that makes him who he is and I would recommend Tom to anybody," said John Hardy, a vice president of human resources for Emerson Network Power.

Since the company is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric, Freismuth has to, in many cases, work within the parameters that the parent company sets. Freismuth must have gotten everyone's attention when he got a better life insurance deal for the 1,000 employees of the subsidiary than the parent company got for 40,000 employees.

"It is his persistence and drive that got that done," Hardy said. "He not only has the industry knowledge but he has the knowledge of his client," Hardy said.

When HUB acquired Freismuth's FAS-EBA Insurance Services in February of 2012, it picked up another happy Freismuth client, Kristine Figueroa, vice president of human resources for Sangart Inc. Everyone and their consultant is trying to make the most sense of health care reform and, Figueroa said, Freismuth has been valiant in his efforts to stay on top of regulation.

"For the size of company that we are they are very, very good," Figueroa said.

Principal
Mercer, San Diego

No Small Feat

Dave Blake, now the vice president of human resources for Oregon State, looks back at his time spent overhauling the benefits program at University of San Diego as perhaps his finest hour.

"It is one of the things in my career that I am probably most proud of," Blake said. The private, Catholic university had a point of service benefits program that was antiquated, and in Blake's opinion, the relationship between the incumbent broker and the university's human resources department lacked the necessary stimulus.

"Everybody had gotten comfortable," Blake said.

He brought in Mercer's Sherri Harrison, who started making constructive change on a wide scale. "I made it very clear to Mercer that my standards for success in terms of being able to do this were going to be pretty high and I was really going to be a pain in the butt," Blake recalled.

Harrison and her compatriots at Mercer delivered. After holding a number of open forums to take input from a dizzying number of stakeholders, Harrison and Blake replaced the point of service plan, got better pricing and came up with a plan that made a diverse employee population happy.

Angelica Gamble-Wong, vice president of people services for Rubio's Restaurants, knows Harrison as someone who returns calls on weekends and gets answers for her when she says she'll get answers for her.

Employee Benefits Specialist
Neace Lukens, Bowling Green, Ky.

The Drive to Succeed

A Toyota plant in Kentucky was looking at mass layoffs when the global automotive supply chain was roiled due to the effects of the tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011. Key to saving jobs and keeping the plant open were efforts taken by Neace Lukens' Todd Hester to cut costs from the plant's health care program.

Cut costs Hester did, by moving to a high-deductible health savings account and focusing on employee wellness. Over the past year, the plant's loss ratio has plummeted from 110 percent to 72 percent.

Other clients had much to say about how Hester has made a big difference in their programs. "For us, he was a great guide," said Johnny White, the benefits, medical and wellness leader for Logan Aluminum.

White was faced with a situation where the employee benefits program of his parent company differed from Logan's goals, which were moving toward more self-directed benefits decisions.

White just got through moving not only health care, but dental, pharmacy, life and disability to a more consumer-driven approach. It was Hester's industry knowledge and his willingness to immerse himself in the operations of his client that made the difference.

Tony Cottrell, the president of human resources for Daicel Safety Systems, has found in Hester a benefits management partner who takes a truly proactive approach to getting things done.

"You know you don't have to ask, Todd is bringing stuff to you before you even ask," Cottrell said.

Vice President
Intercare Insurance Solutions, San Diego

Keeping Your Clients: All of Your Clients

If there is such a thing as a 100 percent year-after-year client retention rate for a broker, then such a thing must rank up there in dreamland with a combined ratio of 85 for a workers' compensation carrier.

Sarice Jaehn, a vice president with Intercare Insurance Solutions, a HUB International company, can claim that retention rate. Listen to what her clients have to say about her and you'll see why.

Terri Rice, the director of compensation and benefits for the Volcano Corp., said her company, after years of manageable, low single-digit increases, was facing increases in healthcare insurance costs in 2012 that were in the double digits.

It was an untenable situation and Rice said Jaehn's industry knowledge, customer service approach and overall tenacity helped her manage it.

"She really helps us out with great ideas and looking at market trends," Rice said. "She goes above and beyond on the account and makes you feel like she is your only client."

Beth Shapiro, the compensation and benefits manager for the ConAm Management Corp., said Jaehn has the sort of presence and industry knowledge lets Shapiro confidently put Jaehn in front of her CEO and CFO.

"She has instilled such confidence in our CFO and CEO that it takes a lot less meeting time and follow-up time and questions from them at renewal every year," Shapiro said.
Jaehn is a graduate of the University of Florida MBA/MHS program and is active in numerous industry groups, focusing on continuing professional education.

Area Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher, Bloomington, Minn.

Standing up for the City

Yvonne Johnson, area vice president of employee benefits counseling for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Bloomington, Minn., has more than 25 years of employee benefits experience and has had a specialty in the public sector for more than 20 years.

And it shows.

Roxanne Chmielewski, the human resource director of Sherburne County, Minn., who uses Johnson, is celebrating a switch to a different health insurance provider, which has resulted in a 24 percent premium reduction for 2012 and a subsequent four years of what she described as "very reasonable" rate caps.

That kind of five-year deal is something the taxpayers of Shelburne County should thank their lucky stars for.

"I hold Yvonne ... in extremely high regard," Chmielewski said in an emailed response to Risk & Insurance®.
"Yvonne and her staff have been extremely helpful with responding to questions and providing education to my staff as well as individual employee questions. They are very responsive to concerns and resolving any problems with the carriers and TPAs," Chmielewski said.

Jill Pocklington, assistant human resource coordinator with the city of Coon Rapids, Minn., said Johnson has been "instrumental" in helping her navigate the changes brought about by national health care reform.

"She has always stepped up for the city," Pocklington said.

Actuarial Consultant
Towers Watson, Bemidji, Minn.

Dancing With Giants

Towers Watson's Kelly Karger, who left Aon Hewitt in December after more than 16 years, must have felt she was between a rock and a hard place in 2012. For one, she took on the implementation of a large plan design and communication project for BAE Systems.

In the very same calendar year, she worked to create a benefits plan for the GE Healthcare and Microsoft venture Caradigm, a company based in Bellevue, Wash., which is using data expertise to help the medical profession provide more efficient and effective health care services.

According to Tami Lamp, the chief people officer for Caradigm and former senior human resource director for Microsoft, Karger hit every deadline and was extremely responsive in presenting options to a demanding panel of human resource professionals from both GE and Microsoft. "She was making things happen with crazy timelines with amazing costs representing two large companies who wouldn't agree," Lamp recalled.

There were big differences between the costs of the existing Microsoft and GE plans and Karger had to negotiate that chasm as well. "In terms of benefits brokerage, the timing was unreasonable, and the volume of data was completely unreasonable," Lamp said.

Karger helped Fiberweb implement retiree medical plan changes when that company sold a business and discovered that the company wasn't prepared for the transition of other employee benefits in connection with the sale. She was able to create an action plan for the company to ensure proper transition of all employee benefits.

Principal
Mercer, Newport Beach, Calif.

A High End Performer

Demanding clients who ask much not only of themselves but of their advisers, place their full confidence in Melissa Monti, a principal with Mercer who has gained a reputation for pulling off tough tasks on brutal deadlines.

Just ask Lee Gelb, the senior vice president for human resources with Aryzta, the global high-end baking company. Gelb is not easy on herself, or her staff and she can find nothing with which to fault Monti.

Gelb handed Monti a task that sounds withering just on the face of it. Consolidate five employee benefits programs. Start the job in April and end it by August.

Guess what, Monti did it without a hitch. "It was the smoothest rollout and acceptance and we had almost no noise from our employees," said Gelb.

Gelb said Monti works so well with her that she sometimes forgets that she is dealing with an outside party. "I would work with her anywhere, anytime," Gelb said.

Alan Derow, benefits and training manager at Superior Grocers, also classifies himself and his company as demanding. He said Monti frequently fulfills complicated information requests within 24 hours and doesn't nickel and dime him. "A lot of times when you ask your consultant [a question] in an area that they are not expert in, they give you a menu of costs and say, we can do that for you but it is going to cost you this and cost you that," Derow said.

"She has taken the approach of saying, look, I am your broker I am going to do whatever I can to help you and I am not going to throw a menu in front of you."

Partner
MJ Insurance, Indianapolis

Young Enough to Know Better

In a strictly professional sense, Chrisanne Christ, Centier Bank's vice president of human resources, has yielded to Kevin Sliwa, one of the youngest brokers to make partner in the history of his agency, MJ Insurance.

"This might sound funny but when I first met him and he was courting our company, I thought, 'This guy is young ¿ what is this guy going to know? He hasn't been around long enough,' " Christ said.

Turns out, Sliwa knows plenty.

Rhonda Kaplar, the human resource director of Task Force Tips Inc., has been around a lot longer than Sliwa has, and said she has talked to enough brokers to know who knows what they're talking about and who doesn't.

"He has got more knowledge than any broker that I have spoken with," Kaplar said. "He met with our management group and they were so impressed with him that he is coming back to do a speaking engagement," Kaplar said.

Sliwa has used his industry connections and the trust he engenders in his clients to get a group of them to go in on the creation of an off-site clinic that will be shared by the workers for all of the companies.

Knowledge? He's got it. Customer service, he's very good at it. So good at it you might forget he's not on your payroll. "One of the things I always tell people is that he is an extension of our department," Christ said.

Senior Vice President
Willis, Tampa, Fla.

Heads Above the Rest

Everybody knows what the problem is. Escalating health care costs have been pressuring companies on the benefits side and on the casualty side for years now.

Willis' Anjanette Simone, senior vice president, human capital consulting, may not have all the answers, but she'll make you feel like she's your partner in trying to manage the beast.

"It's her approach that puts her heads above the others," said Kelly Stewart, vice president of human resources for the Lucas Group.

"She has made herself invaluable to us because she is a business partner," Stewart added.

Stephanie Woods, the director of human resources for SunLink Healthcare LLC, said she had received phone calls and emails for months and months when Simone was trying to get her business. At first, Woods didn't return Simone's calls, but eventually she did and she's glad she did.

Woods said Simone matches her energy and her passion for what she does. "I could tell right away that we would have a great working relationship," Woods said.

Simone was right there with Woods when her company made the move to a drastically higher deductible and a health savings plan in her company's battle to get a grip on costs.

For another client, Simone and the team instituted a telemedicine program allowing workers to have basic medical questions answered by physicians licensed in their state. That kept workers on the job, making money for themselves and their company.

Managing Director
Neace Lukens, Columbus, Ohio

Facing Down Big Increases

When regional retailer Big Sandy Superstore was facing a staggering 32 percent increase in its health care premiums, the company's leaders knew something had to be done.

One of the first soldiers it enlisted in its battle was Bill Sullivan, a Columbus, Ohio-based managing director for Neace Lukens.

Working with the carrier, Sullivan created a high deductible plan that moved single deductibles up to $25,000 and family deductibles up to $50,000. The plan was supported by the creation of a captive that was used to help cover the expenses the company was incurring by contributing to an employee health fund.

"He has the same attitude about client relations that I have, he puts them in the palm of his hand. He is a problem solver," said Jon Kirssin, owner of Pennyslvania-based CFMC Inc., Big Sandy's captive consultant.

"He understands how to be a free thinker, an entrepreneur and an innovator in making programs come to fruition," Kirssin said.

To date, Sullivan's approach for Big Sandy has saved the company $700,000. Sullivan also introduced for Big Sandy a wellness initiative that is running at a flat claim cost basis.

April Main, human resources manager, benefits and HRIS for Columbus, Ohio-based Thirty-One Gifts, said it was Sullivan's negotiating skills that put her way ahead in her plan renewals. Main and Kirssin also gave Sullivan high marks for his customer service approach and industry knowledge.

Area Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher, Houston

Facing the Board

In the past year, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s Jill Watson faced a situation few in her profession would envy.

The Woodlands Township, Texas's brand new board of directors had been elected in May and the township's budget had to be approved by mid-August.

According to Susan Welbes, the township's director of human resources, compensation and benefits comprise more than 70 percent of the township's budget and would be coming under serious scrutiny from the newly elected board.

Under a tough time constraint, she and Watson had to prepare themselves to go in front of the new directors and defend the township's self-insured benefits program.

"The time frame was very, very short, so I turned to Jill and she was able to pull together a historical perspective and paint a picture of our employee benefits package," Welbes said.

In the end, Watson and Welbes were successful. "At the end of that meeting, this entire new board of directors were very comfortable ... and they approved everything that we had presented to them," Welbes said.

Welbes said Watson brought consumerism in health care coverage to The Woodlands years ago, before it was fashionable and has the industry knowledge and accessibility she needs in a consultant. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Watson serves as an area vice president for Gallagher in Houston where she is a consistent producer that lands north of the $1 million mark in revenues.

Partner
Spring Consulting Group
Boston

Area Senior Vice President, Consulting Practice Leader
Gallagher Benefit Services
Bloomington, Minn.

Senior Vice President, Branch Director
Oswald Companies
Columbus, Ohio