Sharon Cunninghis
Senior Partner
Mercer
Excellence in Healthcare
Sharon Cunninghis, a New York-based Senior Partner with Mercer, says she is most proud of being appointed leader of the firm's North America Health & Benefits business at a time when there's so much historic change in the delivery of healthcare in the U.S.—a result of private-sector initiatives along with federal reform.
"I've been able to tackle issues that are of critical importance to our clients, particularly as they evaluate their future approach to benefits delivery and health improvement following enactment of the federal reform law," she says.
"I'm also very proud of the development and launch of Mercer's private exchange offerings, which include Mercer Marketplace private exchange and our partnership with 'Connextions' to create the 'myCustomHealth Medicare Exchange'."
In addition to her U.S. business responsibilities, Cunninghis works with a number of Mercer's key clients helping set program strategy for healthcare and other welfare programs. To borrow a line, she says she believes "it takes a village" to successfully serve clients.
"Working with and for great leaders, and with wonderful colleagues here at Mercer, has helped me be successful," she says. "We are only as good as the people that surround us, and I've had the good fortune to have a number of mentors throughout my career from whom I've learned a variety of important leadership skills. I've also had the opportunity to work with several truly diverse teams that have brought fresh thinking and creativity, enabling our success."
Cunninghis has over 20 years of experience in the health and welfare benefits space. She has extensive experience in managing large projects and providing consulting in areas such as: Strategy setting, including consolidation of benefit programs for merged organizations; program design, including design of account and value based medical plans; and developing methodologies for health care risk assessment and risk adjustment.
She says: "A client once put it well when he said that accuracy is a baseline, but we excel when we go above and beyond in how we deliver our work. It's that excellence in delivery that makes me proud of what we do every day and proud to be part of an elite organization."
Cunninghis says winning the Top 25 award is "validation that the trust placed in me by my clients and my colleagues is well placed," she says. "It's a summing-up of the work we have done to help our clients innovate and be well-equipped to succeed in this post-reform environment."
Q&A: What stands out the most about the work you do?
"It's the knowledge that we're helping our clients improve their employees' health, their wealth and their job performance, and that we do this every day in each of the 40+ countries where we do business. This knowledge is also instilled in Mercer's employees, who take pride in helping clients get the most from their investment in their most vital asset—their people."
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