EXPERTS

mkendall@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2287

What He Does: Mark is masterful at aligning corporations’ strategic and tactical objectives in a way that enhances their financial position with the insurance carrier. He is certified in EMPAQ (Employer Measures of Productivity, Absence and Quality).

Why We Hired Him: Mark provides us with about two degrees of separation. If he doesn't know someone, he knows someone who does. With nearly 25 years’ experience and working with Fortune 1000 companies and their employees, he's created over $120 million in documented savings relative to life, accident, disability, voluntary benefits and international coverages. Beginning his ninth year in consulting large corporations, Mark’s past experience includes; leading the sales initiatives of Unum's Chicago operation and Prudential Financial’s Midwest operation. Mark is active in both industry associations and multiple community organizations.

Employee Benefits Consulting
scarter@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2245

What He Does: Creates sustainable employee benefit strategies and programs to support clients' company missions, develops and manages innovative long-term strategies, plans and vendors, leads client teams in executing the strategy in a way that produces the intended results.

Why We Hired Him: Scott is a high achiever, plain and simple. With 14 years of experience in corporate employee benefit consulting, he brings a national perspective on benefit plan issues and solutions, essential for clients with a multi-state presence. One of Scott's significant accomplishments was recommending and implementing one of the first full-replacement consumer-directed health plans of its size—for more than 30,000 employees across 33 states. He also dedicates time to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization as a serving member on the board of directors.

Global Workforce Strategies Practice
temerick@laurusstrategies.com
Office: (479) 957-4902

What He Does: Calls upon his vast knowledge in Global HR strategy, benefits and health care reform to help employers effectively navigate their way through today’s complex health care benefits arena.

Why We Hired Him: When it comes to understanding the intricacies of today’s health care benefits and programs, Tom isn’t even slightly intimidated. He knows the field inside and out, and he thrives on helping clients build and implement innovative solutions that satisfy ethical, quality and cost standards. And we believe there’s no one who can do it better. That’s because Tom’s experience in developing groundbreaking employee benefit plans is virtually unmatched in the industry. Before launching the consulting firm of Emerick Consulting, LLC, Tom served as Vice President of Global Benefit Design for Walmart. There, he developed and managed benefits for more than one million employees in the U.S. and 300,000 internationally; pioneered Walmart’s nationally recognized "medical travel" program; and headed the company’s Lean Six Sigma and process improvement initiatives. 

Tom’s lengthy and impressive resume also includes holding positions with Burger King Corporation, British Petroleum and American Fidelity Assurance Company; serving on the boards of the National Business Group on Health and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Benefit Committee, among others; and regularly speaking at major national and international benefits and healthcare conferences. In 2009, he was named to the top-100 list of innovators in U.S. healthcare for his work on medical ethics.

HR Technology Consulting Practice
tkennard@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2279

What He Does: Responsible for strategic growth initiatives while driving unparalleled service to our clients from an operational standpoint. Streamlines HR processes for clients through utilization of technology.

Why We Hired Him: Tony’s vast employee benefits experience and his tireless pursuit of superior client service make him a powerhouse performer. Over the past 26 years, Tony has held senior management positions in which he created and implemented results-driven services and solutions for national insurance companies, consulting firms and administrators. During his years at Prudential and US Healthcare, he was awarded for developing a hybrid claim/call center, which reduced turnaround time of claim disputes by 300%. He retrained claim units, increasing accuracy by 35% and COB savings by 265%. He was also awarded for restructuring the training delivery process for Towers Perrin, reducing prep time by 70%. At Trion, he was tasked with developing an administrative practice from the ground up, building one of the nation’s first web-based enrollment and eligibility systems integrated with carriers, clients and other third party platforms. That’s just a sampling of the reasons we wanted Tony to be part of our team. But the bottom-line is: Tony has the operational and technical expertise essential to delivering incomparable service.

Human Resource Consulting Practice
agoodkin@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2284

What She Does: As the Managing Partner for the HR Consulting Practice, helps clients identify and implement smart solutions for all aspects of human resources-compliance, strategy development, total talent management, organizational design and more.

Why We Hired Her: When it comes to knowing how to build and develop high-functioning HR programs and teams, Andrea’s a proven performer. During her 20 years of in-house leadership and consulting experience, she has successfully managed people, and developed strategies, processes and solution-driven programs in diverse organizations. For example, she led the design and execution of comprehensive organizational and best practice assessments for the North American offices of one of the world's largest law firms, Baker & McKenzie, LLP; she helped guide a start-up entertainment firm to triple its size in less than one year; and she launched and implemented a decentralized statewide Human Resources program for Washington State, Department of Labor and Industries.

Property & Casualty Practice
ahulett@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2251

What He Does: Oversees new business development and is managing partner of the Property & Casualty practice, is responsible for developing several multimillion dollar businesses in multiple cities across the country.

Why We Hired Him: It’s more accurate to say that he hired us! With his exceptional record in consultative sales and marketing, Andy co-founded Laurus Strategies. His core competencies include carefully assessing client risk management issues, including identifying and analyzing risk, strategically engaging the right resources to address issues, programming for savings potential and strategic risk financing, and delivering quantifiable results. This expertise comes from nearly 15 years of experience in many key aspects of the business including sales, service, client satisfaction and underwriting.

Human Resource Consulting
afisher@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (847) 968-5353

What He Does: Arturo is both a Principal at Laurus Strategies and founder of Global Rewards Solutions LLC, a human resources consulting firm that helps companies create, access and manage HR policies and programs around the world.

Why We Hired Him: Arturo has more than 25 years of experience in international HR and has spent 16 years consulting with multinational organizations to establish efficient and effective practices in the countries in which they do business. During his career, he has helped develop pay and benefits programs in more than 80 countries for organizations of all sizes in a wide variety of industries.

Arturo was a former partner at Hewitt Associates, a premier human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions company. He spent his early career at E.I. Du Pont de Nemours, EDS and Kentucky Fried Chicken, holding multiple roles in finance and HR.

Arturo serves on the advisory boards for the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and Catholic Charities of Lake County and is a frequent guest speaker at domestic and international HR forums. He holds a B.A. in business from La Salle University in Mexico City. He is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
bphillips@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2264

What He Does: In his role as a Client Lead on the Financial Management team, helps multi-site gaming, education and manufacturing clients develop and leverage highly effective employee benefits practices. He also helps Kevin Klotz guide the rest of the Financial team in underwriting protocol and client deliverables, such as financial reports, budget projections, and marketing analyses and summaries.

Why We Hired Him: When we first met Brian back in 2000, we would have guessed that his credo was to serve clients to the nth degree. And we would have been right. For nearly 30 years, Brian has been going to bat for internal and external clients in diverse aspects of employee benefits, including consulting, underwriting and client services. And he’s an ace manager. As Director of a Regional Business Unit for a major insurance carrier, he held overall administrative, underwriting and financial profitability responsibilities for over 350 group insurance clients. He also played a key role in developing an underwriting training program for new hires and provided technical advice for the entire underwriting operation.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
janderson@laurusstrategies.com
Milwaukee Office: (262) 347-4431

What She Does: As a Principal in the Employee Benefits Consulting practice, Jeanette partners with clients to develop and implement benefit plan strategies, manage vendor relationships and assist with general plan management.

Why We Hired Her: Jeanette’s knack for finding elegant solutions to intractable problems makes her an invaluable resource to our clients. With 15 years of benefits consulting and carrier industry experience, clients have come to solely rely on her expertise in a range of areas including administrative services, consumer-driven health plans, stop loss, HMOs, prescription drugs, benefit taxation, FMLA, group life and disability and Medicare advantage/PDP plans. Most recently, Jeanette has played a significant role advising clients on health care reform, making sure they understand the implications of the legislation and, in some cases, developing a strategy as a response.
As an active member of her community, Jeanette serves as a member of the Greater Milwaukee Employee Benefits Council, the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Specialists and sits on the board of the Gone Too Soon Foundation.
Jeanette received her B.S. in Statistics/Actuarial Science from the University of Wisconsin. She is also licensed in Health & Life Insurance and is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS), a Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) and a Registered Employee Benefit Consultant (REBC). She is truly one of Laurus Strategies’ hidden gems.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
jnoonan@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2269

What She Does: Works with clients to create and manage sustainable health and welfare strategies and programs.

Why We Hired Her: Based on Joanne’s extensive and remarkable expertise, we hired her in 2002 and never looked back. Joanne has inside-out knowledge of the ever-changing benefits arena, including health care strategy, managed care, consumerism, pricing analysis, design and plan/vendor management.  Prior to joining Laurus Strategies, she had worked with several national insurance carriers and managed all aspects of employee benefits: administrative services, stop loss, HMOs, prescription drugs, group life and disability, and Medicare Advantage/PDP plans. Today she continues to leverage her vast knowledge to support effective, efficient benefits programs for Laurus Strategies’ clients in diverse industries. Among them are home construction, auto suppliers, construction equipment manufacturing and rental companies, printing and pharmaceutical companies. 

Employee Benefits Consulting
jfitzpatrick@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2252

What He Does: Focuses on new business development, packaging unique and creative solutions for clients, and making sure that we deliver on our promises to ensure client satisfaction.

Why We Hired Him: We didn’t, exactly. But we are sure glad he’s here. John is a cofounder of Laurus Strategies who had previously worked at three different insurance companies. His extensive insurance experience—in sales, service, client satisfaction and underwriting—includes calling on brokers and consultants and writing many millions of dollars in premium. The companies he represented are Laurus Strategies vendors today. And because John thoroughly understands their inner workings, he is able to use that knowledge to benefit our clients. John believes giving back to the community is as important as business success. He currently sits on the board for United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago and the Mary Crane Center, and he is a founding member of the Chicago Business Resource Group (CBRG ). In addition, he coaches boys and girls basketball at Immaculate Conception.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
kklotz@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2271

What He Does: As a Financial Manager and Client Lead within the Financial Management team, Kevin partners with clients to develop and leverage highly effective employee benefits practices. He also oversees the Financial team in underwriting protocol and client deliverables such as financial reports, budget projections and marketing analyses and summaries.

Why We Hired Him: With over 20 years’ industry experience, Kevin continues to deliver results for internal and external clients in diverse aspects of employee benefits including consulting, underwriting and client services. Having held various management positions in Underwriting at insurance carriers in the Midwest and on the West coast, he handled overall administrative, underwriting and financial profitability responsibilities for small, medium and large-sized clients. His diverse background in underwriting and direct work with actuaries has played a key role in developing rating methodologies as well as underwriting training.

Global Workforce Strategies
rmattaliano@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2282

What she does: As a principal at Laurus Strategies, Renee provides clients with an integrated and comprehensive view of their absence management programs. She develops the full cost of absence and assists organizations in developing strategies to reduce lost time and productivity as well their financial impact on the organization. Her clients at Laurus Strategies have included Hospira, HSBC, Clarcor and ProHealth, among others.

Why we hired her: Renee has over 27 years of experience in the field of absence, health and productivity management. She has worked in the insurance industry in both workers’ compensation and disability. In addition, Renee owned a consulting firm assisting corporations with the development and implementation of absence management programs. Renee also served as the manager of integrated disability management programs for Abbott Laboratories. With over 15 years of experience in the health care, manufacturing, gaming, financial and service industries, she has helped corporations save over $10 million in direct and indirect costs associated with absence due to policy and benefit plan design changes.

Renee has published several articles on the topic of absence management and health and productivity, in publications such as Benefits and Compensation, HR Executive, SHRM Online and others. She is an advocate of data-based decision making and integrated solutions for corporations and has helped many companies set strategies to achieve a healthier workforce, save costs and improve productivity.

Renee received her masters in vocational rehabilitation counseling from Michigan State University.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
lpepoon@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2247

What She Does: Lisa works with clients to develop and implement benefit plan strategies, consumerism, wellness initiatives, pricing design and to help facilitate and manage on-going vendor relationships and plan administration. Her ultimate objective is to ensure that her clients’ employee benefit strategies support their overall business goals and success.

Why We Hired Her: With over 13 years at Laurus Strategies, we couldn’t imagine life without Lisa. Her passion to exceed client expectations—as well as the depth and breadth of her exposure to employee benefits, including administrative services, consumer-driven health plans, stop loss, prescription drugs, dental, vision, and group life and disability—make her an indispensable resource for clients. Before becoming a consultant, she worked for a national insurance carrier for eight years, where she undertook a whole range of responsibilities—from underwriting to all aspects of account management.

Lisa received her B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and her master’s degree from DePaul University in Chicago. She is licensed in Health & Life Insurance.

mbruni@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (708) 774-2494

What He Does: Simply, Mike and his team help non-profit institutions raise more money. Specifically, Mike empowers organizations by building strong relationships with prospective and current donors, non-profit leaders, and volunteers, as well as local and state legislators. Mike prides himself on forming close partnerships with his clients, thereby assisting them to strategically plan and execute successful fundraising campaigns, build their annual funds, and help improve productivity from both staff and volunteer board leadership.

Why We Hired Him: For more than 20 years, Mike has lived and breathed fundraising. As a founder and partner in LatzBruni Partners, he interfaced with every component of non-profits, helping non–profit organizations raise more than $265 million. Early in his development career, Mike pursued—and received–federal grants for the Illinois Department of Corrections and Illinois Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse which enabled the first treatment program for the incarcerated in the State of Illinois, a pilot program which then became a national model. Before starting LatzBruni Partners, he worked as the Vice President of Advancement at Marian Catholic High School where he managed their first-ever Capital Campaign and led the school’s annual fund to a 240% increase in just four years.

Mike is passionate about the nature of non-profits, which fuels his desire to raise funds that are critical to enhancing his clients’ missions and improving their service line. Mike has served as a trainer, speaker and facilitator for over 100 educational institutions and community organizations, has been recognized as the Volunteer of the Year by both the Illinois Drug Education Alliance and the DuPage County Juvenile Officers Association, and is actively involved in numerous other community organizations.

Global Workforce Strategies
mrogers@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2280

Who he is: As one of our partners, Mitch concentrates on client retention and growth for our Global Workforce Strategies practice. This entails designing and implementing innovative and long-term incentive-based strategies that increase operational efficiencies, maximize ROI, align with state and federal compliance requirements and promote clarity between clients and human capital.

Why We Hired Him: With nearly 20 years in the employee benefits industry, including roles in marketing, consulting and management, Mitch marries indispensable experience with a pioneering approach. He has consistently ranked as a top performer in client retention and new sales objectives and has received recognition for the successful development of several businesses in multiple cities throughout the U.S.

In addition to his client work, Mitch serves on the Board of Directors for One Hope United, a private, Chicago-based non-profit that provides an array of prevention, intervention and community-based support programs to children at risk across the country. He received his B.A. from Colby College in Maine.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
nlombaer@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2276]

What She Does: Helps clients with all aspects of health and welfare benefits, including strategy, health promotion and management, consumerism, pricing analysis, design and plan/vendor management.

Why We Hired Her: Nancy’s a pro who’s proved her mettle time and time again. During her 25 years in employee benefits consulting and finance, she served as the primary national resource to Towers Perrin, an international consulting firm, on financial and actuarial issues related to managed care. Nancy also held positions of vice president, group underwriting for two major insurance carriers—Prudential and Blue Cross of CA (now part of Anthem/Wellpoint), and a for-profit hospital company. Among her many achievements, she created and implemented pricing policy and financial controls for managed care products and developed a feasibility model for one of the initial "start-up" Consumer Driven Health Plan companies to determine their viability in the large group market.

Global Workforce Strategies
pgallagher@laurusstrategies.com
Chicago Office: (312) 429-2302

What He Does: As a principal in our Global Workforce Strategies practice, Patrick partners with clients to develop and implement benefit plan strategies, manage vendor relationships and assist with general plan management.

Why We Hired Him: His experience spans the benefits industry—and the globe. Patrick has over 15 years’ industry experience ranging from the underwriting of national and international group medical, life and disability programs to the structuring of global insurance platforms (e.g., multinational pooling arrangements, global employee benefit captive solutions and global purchasing arrangements) and client management roles.

Patrick’s most recent work includes leading AIG’s global account management team in the U.S., which handled the global benefit arrangements for AIG’s Fortune 250 client base. He has personally managed five of AIG’s six largest global accounts, saving his clients in excess of $15 million annually, with an average of 18 percent of premium.

Patrick’s international work has reached every region of the world. His areas of expertise include risk financing, global captive platforms and local benefit programs in Mexico, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as global arrangements to global vendor and multinational pooling arrangements.

Patrick graduated with a B.S.B. in risk management (with an emphasis on healthcare) and accounting from Temple University. He also served in the U.S. Marines Corps from 1987-1992, where he served on the Marine One crew for President George H. W. Bush.

Employee Benefits Consulting Practice
bbryan@laurusstrategies.com
Wisconsin Office: (262) 347-4430

What He Does: Guides national clients in developing innovative long-term benefit plan strategies, plans vendor management, and leads client teams in delivering and managing those strategies.

Why We Hired Him: Bob has been in the employee benefits industry for nearly 30 years in a variety of roles including underwriting, marketing, consulting and management. His impressive track record of success was built from a benefits consulting background at firms including Sedgwick Nobel Lowndes and Aon Consulting. When it comes to long-term strategic planning, plan design and funding, mergers, acquisitions and helping clients manage their benefit plan cost, clients look to Bob as their one-stop resource. Clients know that they can trust Bob to deliver and they consider his client teams to be an integral part of their organization. He founded the first expansion of FST Associates in Milwaukee, WI, which ultimately became part of Laurus Strategies. He’s civic-minded and clients have great respect for him.