Benefit pros on the move: ACI Specialty Benefits, Cetera, Vida Health

The news about new promotions and hires have continued to roll in throughout February. Benefits professionals and HR executives are taking on a variety of new roles at companies across the U.S. We broke down some of the professional moves that caught our attention this month.

Do you have a new hire or promotion you would like to share? Is a key executive stepping down after years of service? Contact caroline.hroncich@sourcemedia.com and let me know. Please provide a high-resolution headshot along with the new job details.

Follow us on twitter (@EBAadvisernews) and use the hashtag #OnTheMove.

Sterling Administration appoints regional director

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Sterling Administration, an administrator of HSA, HRA, FSAs, POP, ERISA and COBRA, has tapped Eric Chandler as regional director, southwest, leading business development efforts in Arizona, New Mexico and Las Vegas. As regional director, Chandler will work with companies and brokers throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Las Vegas to identify the HSA, HRA, FSA, POP, COBRA and compliance products that address their needs. Prior to joining Sterling, he served in a variety of sales and benefits roles at Paychex and Bank of America.

Cummings joins VertitechIT in EPO role

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Steven Cummings has joined Holyoke, Massachusetts-based healthcare consultancy VertitechIT as an executive project officer. Cummings will lead engagements with large healthcare systems as the company continues to expand operations throughout the east coast and across the country. He previously held senior technology titles at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, Massachusetts, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont. Cummings holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University and a Master in Business Administration from Babson College.

Cetera welcomes new chief human resources officer

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Jeannie Finkel Joins Cydcor as Chief People Officer. (PRNewsFoto/Cydcor)
Cetera Financial Group has appointed Jeannie Finkel as its chief human resources officer. Finkel will oversee HR, culture, employee engagement, organizational design and talent management. She has more than 20 years of experience as a human resources practitioner, as well as more than 10 years in external recruiting roles. She most recently held the position of chief administrative officer at Cydcor, where she played a role in organizational design and overseeing HR. Finkel previously served as a senior HR leader for companies including Charles Schwab, Countrywide Financial and Trust Company of the West.

FlashParking selects new VP of enterprise solutions

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FlashParking, a parking technology company that serves employers and other enterprises, named Jeffrey Johnson as vice president of enterprise solutions. As a part of Johnson’s new position at FlashParking, he will design, build, test, launch and manage enterprise solutions for current clients and new prospects, expanding upon the company’s current services. Johnson joins FlashParking from Towne Park, where he served on their executive team and rose to the role of senior vice president, operations, western group. Before joining Towne Park, Johnson was a director of rooms division for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

ACI Specialty Benefits taps Kellerhouse for managing director role

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Global benefits provider ACI Specialty Benefits appointed Thomas Kellerhouse as managing director. Kellerhouse has more than 15 years of executive leadership and healthcare industry expertise. Prior to joining ACI Specialty Benefits, Kellerhouse was vice president and general manager for Medicare GenerationRx, an employer PDP administered by MedImpact Healthcare Systems. He also served as president, and was on the board of directors, for MG Insurance Company.

Vida Health taps former Anthem exec for SVP role

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Vida Health, a personalized virtual care platform for physical and behavioral health, hired Veeneta Lakhani as senior vice president of health services. As SVP of health services, Lakhani will lead growth and execution for Vida’s payer, provider and pharmacy benefit manager sectors, with a focus on building its virtual care platform.

Lakhani joins Vida after a decade of working in multiple executive health plan roles. Prior to Vida, Lakhani worked as both vice president of provider enablement and vice president of provider operations at Anthem, spanning major strategic priorities including payment innovation, service operational redesign and investment planning and execution. Lakhani led the rollout of Anthem’s accountable care and physician collaboration program. She began her career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, where she was an associate partner in the insurance practice.

Lau accepts benefits consultant role at Lockton

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Lockton has hired JoAnn Lau as a employee benefits consultant, who will work with Washington employers to obtain and retain their workforce. After more than 30 years in the insurance industry, Lau says she has seen many changes in employee benefits and has helped employers adapt along the way. She worked with businesses through the ups and downs of Seattle’s tech boom. She is part of the Mountain West series, which includes offices in Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Zimmer Biomet taps Puryear for chief human resource officer role

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Medical device company Zimmer Biomet has hired Dr. Pamela Puryear as senior vice president, chief human resources officer. Puryear, who most recently served as senior vice president and chief talent officer at Pfizer, will report directly to Zimmer Biomet President and CEO Bryan Hanson. In her role at Pfizer, Puryear spearheaded leadership development, talent management, learning and development, employee engagement, organizational culture, diversity and inclusion and workforce analytics.

Previously, Puryear served as chief talent officer at Hospira, a provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2015. Puryear started her career as a finance professional for several real estate investment advisers, and holds a BA in psychology and organizational behavior from Yale, an MBA from Harvard Business School and a PhD in organizational psychology.

Namely appoints former Tesla executive to board of directors

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HR platform Namely has added Gabrielle Toledano to its board of directors. Toledano is a technology industry veteran with more than 25 years of HR leadership experience, including leading global human resources at Tesla and Electronic Arts. Currently, she is an executive in residence at Comcast Ventures, serving as a talent operating partner. She is also an adviser and serves on the board of directors for both private and public companies. Prior to joining Comcast Ventures, Gabrielle was chief people officer at Tesla, leading the human resources, recruiting, environment health and safety, security and facilities organizations.

Transamerica promotes Zino to national sales director

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Transamerica has promoted Darren Zino to national sales director for mid-market retirement plans. In his role, Zino will oversee Transamerica’s wholesale distribution efforts for retirement plans with $50 million or less in assets. Zino was previously a division vice president at the company. He has two decades of experience in retirement plans.
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