Executive Panel & Workshop Presenters
Keynote Speakers:
Colleen Reitan
Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer
Health Care Service Corporation
Colleen Reitan serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). The largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States with 12.4 million members and the fourth largest health insurer overall, HCSC operates through its Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as through several subsidiaries, to offer a variety of health and life insurance products and related services to employers and individuals.
Ms. Reitan is responsible for financial operations, actuarial, claims and customer service, enterprise information strategy and management, government programs operations, strategic support services, information technology, and strategic subsidiaries. She works to ensure the internal operational functions within HCSC are maximizing efficiency while making sound and balanced investments that will result in the delivery of health and financial security that is simpler, more affordable and more accessible to as many members as possible.
In addition to her role within HCSC, Ms. Reitan actively partners with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to address critical issues facing the health care industry, and the Blues Plans specifically, and to maintain the brand qualities that led to Blue Cross Blue Shield being the most recognized and trusted brand in health care. She also serves as the HCSC representative on the Inter-Plan Programs Committee, the Association's forum for discussing and understanding issues from the individual Plan's perspective.
Before assuming her current position with HCSC, Ms. Reitan served as president and chief operating officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, the state's largest health insurer with 2.9 million members. She has more than 20 years of experience in the Blues system and is also the co-creator of the Minnesota Health Information Exchange, a national model for sharing electronic health information. Colleen has a master's degree in health care administration from University of Minnesota and undergraduate degree in urban studies and economics.
Jim Kadela
Divisional Senior Vice President,
Finance Services and Internal Operations
Health Care Service Corporation
Jim Kadela serves as divisional senior vice president of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). The largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States with 12.4 million members and the fourth largest health insurer overall, HCSC operates through its Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as through several subsidiaries, to offer a variety of health and life insurance products and related services to employers and individuals.
Jim is responsible for the Strategic Support & Optimization (SSO) division which centralizes shared portfolio and project management, legislative and regulatory implementation, metrics and reporting, and learning, talent and communication services. He also coordinates all budget and planning activities for the Internal Operations and Financial Services divisions under HCSC's chief operating officer. He works to ensure the functions within SSO are leveraging deep enterprise knowledge of business needs to deliver comprehensive solutions that maximize efficiency, comply with legislate and regulatory mandates, extract the most value from enterprise portfolio and process projects, and maintain a high-performing workforce. SSO aims to enable their business partners to deliver on HCSC's mission of providing health and financial security that is simpler, more affordable and more accessible to as many members as possible.
Jim has worked at HCSC for 16 years and has held several positions within the claims and customer service organization. His experience included responsibility for a number of operational areas such as provider customer service, as well as controllership functions within Internal Operations. Jim also has responsibility for merger integration within HCSC, and was the integration lead on the merger between HCSC and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma.
Jim has an MBA in finance from DePaul University and an undergraduate degree in accounting.
Cathy Tinsley
Host and Speaker
Divisional Vice President, Enterprise Program
and Project Management Office
Health Care Service Corporation
Cathy Tinsley is the Divisional Vice President of the Enterprise Program and Project Management Office (EPPO) for Health Care Service Corporation which is made up of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Cathy directed the consolidation of two separate groups to create one centralized Enterprise PMO which drove consistency, transparency and repeatability in project management practices. The EPPO, under her direction, manages the Programs and Projects within the $200M Enterprise Portfolio and partners with its customers to ensure their business objectives are met. Cathy’s oversees a PMO organization of 130 staff members who are aligned by business function and are able to leverage knowledge of the business to complete projects successfully.
Cathy has been with HCSC for over 10 years starting out as a Program Manager specializing in Merger and Acquisition initiatives, successfully managing several multi-million dollar integration activities. Prior to HCSC, she worked in the health care system at Rush Prudential Health Plan in and Information Systems capacity. Cathy received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois and a Masters Degree from DePaul University. She is also very involved in her community co-chairing a long term planning committee for the Lake Central School Corporation as well as participating in many Parent Teacher Organization and school related committees.
John Gleason
Vice President of Government Relations
Health Care Service Corporation
John Gleason is Vice President of Government Relations for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Gleason joined HCSC in 1993 and is involved in all areas of government relations including policy development, lobbying, grassroots and political activities. Prior to his association with HCSC, Gleason was a journalist primarily covering government and politics in Chicago and downstate Illinois.
Jennifer Vachon
Vice President,
Brand Strategy and Marketing Services
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Jennifer Vachon is Vice President of Brand Strategy and Marketing Services for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 39 independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies collectively providing health coverage for nearly 100 million people – one-in-three of all Americans.
As Vice President of Brand Strategy and Marketing Services, Vachon is accountable for BCBSA’s major brand, strategy and marketing communications initiatives, including those that support Blue System programs nationwide. As steward of one of the country’s strongest brands, she leads the Association’s strategic brand management performance efforts, including brand valuation, positioning and equity enhancement programs.
Vachon is responsible for all new enterprise-wide marketing initiatives that demonstrate Blue leadership and innovation in healthcare affordability and quality. In addition, her team is responsible for market and competitive research in support of strategy development for major business segments, which include growth initiatives, corporate strategy development, performance improvement, contingency planning and new business opportunity development.
She also directs the Association’s national paid media program, BCBSA web communications and the development of communication and marketing materials on national capabilities for Plans to use with their members.
Previously, Vachon was Executive Director, Marketing and Business Strategy at BCBSA. Prior to joining the Association in 1995, she was manager of Business Development at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the teaching hospital for Northwestern University Medical School. In that capacity, she was responsible for identifying and implementing new opportunities for growth and business expansion. She also served as health policy analyst for the Metropolitan Planning Council, a non-profit civic organization that researches critical policy issues and provides a platform for business leaders to influence public policy.
Vachon earned a Master of Science degree in health policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics cum laude from Union College in Schenectady, New York.
Steve Glenn
Director, Enterprise Program Management Office
Regence
Steve Glenn is the Director of the Project Delivery Team within the Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) for Regence in Portland, Oregon. He has been with Regence for nine years and in his current role is responsible for supporting the strategic goals of Regence through the management of the EPMO Project Delivery Team to ensure excellent delivery of corporate projects. Additionally, Glenn works closely with Regence senior management, various project governance and steering committees, as well as business functional managers to ensure that project deliverables achieve the intended business results. Glenn is also responsible for departmental and project budget preparation, and performance, and for developing EPMO Project Delivery Team members and ensuring a high performing team of project professionals exists to deliver corporate projects within defined scope, dollar, quality and time factors.
Prior to joining Regence Glenn was a Vice President for a large national retailer and was responsible for the Retail Training and Education division. Glenn is very involved in his community and is serving as the 2009 Regence Executive sponsor for the Employee Giving Campaign and the Season of Giving program. Glenn enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons in family activities including camping, hiking, snow skiing and bike riding.
Second City
Headquartered in Chicago, The Second City has been performing sketch comedy in front of audiences for 50 years, making us the standard by which comedy and improv in America is judged. So much talent has come from the ranks of our company’s many theaters over the years that it reads like a who’s who of contemporary American comedy. Some of our most well-known alumni are John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert, to name a few. The work of Second City Communications uses the basics principles of improvisation – engaging audiences and improving performance – to support corporate events, marketing work, and training assignments. Every year, we produce over 400 corporate assignments, most of which are Fortune 500 companies.
Sam Glenn
Sam Glenn, The Attitude Guy™ – Corporate Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur
"Our Attitude is the one thing we have the power to choose. Choose to Go PositiveTM!"
As a nationally-acclaimed corporate speaker, author of A Kick in the Attitude, and founder of EverythingAttitude.com and Attitude Digest magazine, Sam Glenn, The Attitude Guy™, captivates audiences through a unique blend of inspiration, humor, and art – igniting teamwork and leadership – in an unforgettable program that will recharge your group's Attitude and keep them optimized for success. Join the millions who have heard Sam's incredible message, and discover the "kick" in your Attitude.
Biography
Sam Glenn knows success and failure. At one time, Sam was negative, broke, depressed, jobless, had no place to live and got by working odd night jobs. Sam's attitude was in the dumps until a dear friend gave him what he calls a "Kick in the Attitude," a gift that changed his attitude for the better. Within two years, Sam went from sleeping on the floor, to achieving dreams he once thought were impossible. Today, Sam energizes audiences as large as 75,000 with his inspiration and sidesplitting humor. His new book release, A Kick in the Attitude, highlights his own journey and energizing principles on how to go positive for success.
Sam is also the founder of EverythingAttitude.com, a motivational resource company recognized as The Authority on Attitude™, providing motivational tools, and corporate training for businesses and individuals seeking a kick-start or recharge to their attitude. EverythingAttitude.com also publishes a quarterly magazine, Attitude Digest magazine, the premier workplace publication aimed at inspiring a Go Positive™ Attitude at work and in life.
