The 2020 Women Leaders in Technology: Maria Turner

After leaving Andersen, it was a natural progression to continue to focus on advisory services, she says. "At AArete, our focus is on Strategic Profitability Improvement, using superior market intelligence and big data to optimize profits in a compressed timeframe," Turner says. "Two of AArete's Service Lines focus on the use of Digital & Data and on Technology to drive measurable results."

Today as a Managing Director, she leads the firm's Payment Intelligence team focused on utilizing client-tailored advanced data analytics and technology to optimize payment accuracy in the healthcare industry. Payment Intelligence is a new approach to payment accuracy and integrity, focused not only on overpayment recoveries, but on one, improved compliance; two, enhanced payer/provider relationships resulting from the assurance of timely reimbursements aligned with contractual terms; and three, process improvements and efficiencies that allow payors to shift their focus toward Medical Loss Ratio initiatives.

She says it was a business decision to create a Payment Intelligence Center of Excellence, maximizing the skills of the both the business consultants and the data scientists on the teams, that really turned Payment Intelligence into something great, she says. "I have thoroughly enjoyed maximizing the talent of our Payment Intelligence team in order to standardize, digitally transform and productize our unique, innovative solution." 

Turner calls herself a "Maximizer,"  meaning "it is important to get to know the unique skills and interests of the individuals on my various teams and to bring out each of their strengths in order to stimulate the excellence of the overall team—turning something strong into something superb," she says.   

Meanwhile, over the next twelve months, Turner says she is looking forward to the continuing growth of AArete's Payment Intelligence Center of Excellence. "Initially, our Payment Intelligence™ services were developed in response to a request from one client.  However, AArete quickly determined the need for Payment Intelligence services across the industry," she says. "In response, AArete developed a solution that utilizes client-tailored advanced data analytics, AArete's intellectual property and the Payment Intelligence proprietary methodology to identify, recover and prevent erroneous payments."

As far as being named one of the Women Leaders in Technology, Turner says it is important as it recognizes the importance of Women as leaders in the field of Technology Consulting. "As the importance of diverse teams moves to the forefront, being recognized as a female leader in the industry brings credence to the value of women in business."

Have you experienced challenges being a woman in the technology field? 

Turner: "Throughout my career in a field historically dominated by men, I have had many strong male mentors and mentored many young men. Coming up in an age with few women in my field, it has been a challenge to find female mentorship. In order to address this issue, I've become involved in networking groups and professional associations that give me the opportunity to build connections with strong female leaders. I co-lead AArete's Women's Initiative which is focused on recruiting, developing and retaining the next generation of strong female consultants."