Gary Sankar

About Gary Sankar

Spending 20+ years in the health insurance industry, I’ve fueled growth, innovation, business-technology alignment, and product design and deployment. I’ve built and led high-performance teams, reached across aisles to drive consensus with matrix partners, and positioned business units with the vision and actionable plans to achieve strategic objectives. With a deep sense of community and a reputation as an authentic customer-centered leader and change agent, I\'m passionate about guiding a new generation of leaders. Early in my journey, I had the tremendous opportunity to gain deep operational experience with Empire BCBS and Cigna. First spending 4 years with Empire BCBS, I graduated from their Management Training Program and began my career leading business turnarounds, developing transformational strategies, and creating continuous improvement plans. Taking this expertise to Cigna, I worked to streamline select operations processes, generating strong and sustainable cost reductions and productivity gains. Continuing in the project management lane, I led several business-critical projects with Aetna, introduced leading-edge technologies, and delivered million-dollar-plus savings. As Chief of Staff, I managed the growth of a $5B, 3-state region through strategic planning, financial modeling, strategic alliances, and broad-reaching business transformation. As Sr. Director of the Public and Labor Sector, a $6.5B book of business, I built and executed strategies to fuel enterprise growth, nurture COE relationships, deliver industry thought leadership, and advance our in-house talent strategy. Continuing to forge cross-functional collaboration, I worked with enterprise and local stakeholders to define GTM strategies, optimize technology deployment, and secure competitive market positions. In my current role as Lead Director of Product Strategy / Development, I produce long-range business plans and product roadmaps, oversee the design and deployment of game-changing solutions, and lead 20+ matrix colleagues. Within this role, my team and I lead primary research to perform buy / build analysis, define compelling business cases, and shape GTM strategies.

Experience

1. Lead Director, Product Strategy Development

   Aetna, A Cvs Health Company

   Jan 2017 — Present · Philadelphia, PA, US

   Identify opportunities to develop new concepts, mitigate unmet needs, and bring physical and mental well-being solutions to the market, leading a team of 20+ matrixed team members in designing, testing, and launching innovative offerings.»» Stood-up Aetna Personal Health Solutions, single front door access for self-insured customers through a new digital platform, evaluating market needs, assessing internal build options, vetting and contracting vendor, and driving entire lifecycle. Led process from business case development, design sessions, go-to-market strategy, and nine months of comprehensive consumer and employer testing. Sold 320k members in first 18 months.»» Developed a work-life balance-focused School Employee Guidance Program (A+ for Schools) to mitigate teacher stress, depression, and anxiety; reduce turnover; lower claim costs; and increase productivity. Launched strategic digital messaging generating 83K+ new members in 9 states, adding chat therapy in 2022.

Education

• St. John's University, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Management

• Lehigh University College of Business

  Master of Business Administration - MBA