September 13, 2024 • 7 mins
Mark your calendars for the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in Philadelphia on November 7th! Get ready for empowering workshops, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities with over 10,000 attendees. In partnership with the PA Conference for Women, we present Women Who Inspire. Today’s spotlight is on Susan Larkin, Executive Vice President and President of Core Commercial Markets at Independence Health Group, parent company of Independence Blue Cross.
Learn more about Independence:
Learn more about Independence:
- Website: ibx.com
- Instagram: @IndependenceBlueCross
- Facebook: Independence Blue Cross
- LinkedIn: Independence Blue Cross
- Website: PAConferenceforWomen.org
- Facebook: Pennsylvania Conference for Women
- Instagram: @pennwomen
- X (formerly Twitter): @PennWomen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Pennsylvania Conference for Women is just around the corner
on November seventh, bringing together thousands of women from across
the tri State and beyond for a day of inspiration,
learning and connection. There's a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers
including Don Staley, Martha Stewart, and Shiry Lee Roff, along
with many more breakout sessions and network opportunities, all designed
(00:23):
to empower women in their careers and personal lives. Also,
if you register for the twenty twenty four PA Conference,
you will also be registered for free for the national
Conference which is happening in March. Well. As part of
our partnership with the Pennsylvania Conference, we present to you
women who inspire and joining us for that is our
(00:46):
inspiring woman. Susan Larkin, executive vice president and President of
Core Commercial Markets at Independence Health Group, which is the
parent company of Independence Blue Cross. Well, thank you so
much for joining us here today. She ate it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Well, let's begin a little bit about your origin story.
You've navigated through several decades of working in the healthcare industry,
and I wonder if you can talk a bit about
your journey and what are some of the benchmark support
that helped you navigate your.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Career right well, great, thrilled to be here this morning,
and so as I think about my career, my professional journey,
my entire career has actually been in the healthcare industry.
One of my first roles was at Independence Blue Cross
many many years ago. At that point, I was an
account executive, just really starting out, and I met a
woman that actually became my mentor for about twenty years
(01:42):
and really helped guide my career and shape my career.
And one of the key items that I found from
her is she inspired me in so many ways, but
also it was an opportunity for me to look at
her and see what worked and what didn't work. And
one of the things I learned from her was when
(02:04):
you are interacting with customers and individuals, everyone has a
different style and you need to adjust to that style.
And it's something that I have carried through my entire career.
After spending a few years at Independentiblue Cross, I decided
that I really wanted to be a consultant. I wanted
to understand the challenges that customers were facing in healthcare
(02:26):
and how I could make a difference. And so for
several years I worked at a national consulting firm and
really got under the covers in terms of what was
happening with customers and what were the challenges that they
were facing from a healthcare perspective. And then I decided
that I wanted to take that to the next level
and I wanted to start my own consulting practice. So
(02:47):
I decided that that's what I would do. And my
husband had a property and casualty company at the time,
and I decided that I would start the employee benefits
practice of brokerage professionals and I would take that passion
and that desire.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
That I had to really help clients and really be
a force for chain.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And I did that for many years before we decided
to sell, and after we sold, I still had that
passion and I.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Thought, what is the next level here?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Let me actually go from consulting and helping clients to
really the payer so that I now understand all aspects.
I understand what a customer faces, I understand what a
consultant bases, I understand what a broker phase is. And
let me take that knowledge to Independence Blue Cross. And
at Independence Blue Cross, I started out as the vice
(03:38):
president of account Management and I did that for several years.
And after that I decided that I wanted to change
and I essentially recreated my career and went from account
management to managing the p and ls. My background is
accounting and math, and I did that for several years.
And at Independence, we have a culture of really encouraging
(04:04):
a culture where women thrive, and for me, it was
just it's been a fabulous experience to be able to
collaborate with such powerful women. After taking on that p
and L role for a while, I became the senior
vice president of Health Markets and ultimately now the executive
vice president of Independence Blue Crosse.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So very excited for the journey that I've had.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
IBX has been a long time supporter of the Pennsylvania
Conference for Women, and I wonder if you can talk
about the impact of that partnership with Independence Lacross and
the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in terms of just what
you've gotten out of the participation and the support for
this conference at IBX.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So again, I think that my first year going to
the conference was when I joined Independence Blue Crosse and
really getting to see what the value is of the
networking opportunities and an opportunity to collaborate, and an opportunity to
be truly inspired.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And I think when you go to the conference.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
You really do have an opportunity to see all these
fabulous women and how they've navigated their career, and it's
impossible to walk away without being completely inspired about what
you want to do next in your journey. I believe
that we're all on a journey. We're in different areas
of that journey, but when you go to that conference,
(05:19):
you come back and you are excited about what you're
going to do next in your own journey.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Absolutely, and I find that every time I attend, and
we've been there from the very beginning, that I always
walk away with something that really was life changing, whether
it's something in my personal life or in my career life.
It is just an absolutely tremendous opportunity for growth in
all areas for women. And I know that there's so
much to look forward to, and in fact, some of
(05:47):
your colleagues are going to be hosting some very interesting workshops.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Very excited about that.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I will be attending so that I can be alongside
my colleagues and support them. We've got Courtney Cruz, which
we'll be doing Reinventing your Career Portfolio, which I'm very excited.
I do a program for the women of Independence through Lunchline,
and I've had Courtney on the program talking about her
journey and so it's going to be very exciting for
(06:14):
everyone to hear. We've got doctor Rita Kumar who will
be talking about living to thrive, not just to survive,
so everyone will absolutely love that session. And Reverend doctor
Lorena Marshall Bleak, which we'll be talking about navigating the
new Ark environment. So very excited to go and support
my colleagues and really for them to be able to
(06:34):
share their story with so many women.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Well. The Pennsylvania Conference for Women happening on November seventh.
The theme this year power in Unity and Susan Larkin.
If people want more information about independence blue Cross, where
do they.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Go wwibx dot com.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Fantastic and for information and tickets to the Pennsylvania Conference
for Women, go to Paconference for Women dot org. And
understand that if you get ticket to the November conference,
you get free entry to the national conference, which includes
speakers like Oprah Winfrey. So you definitely don't want to
miss that. Susan Larkin, executive vice president and president of
(07:13):
Core Commercial Markets at Independence Health Group, the parent company
of Independence Blue Cross, thank you for being today's women
who inspire. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Thank you
The Pennsylvania Conference for Women is just around the corner
on November seventh, bringing together thousands of women from across
the tri State and beyond for a day of inspiration,
learning and connection. There's a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers
including Don Staley, Martha Stewart, and Shiry Lee Roff, along
with many more breakout sessions and network opportunities, all designed
(00:23):
to empower women in their careers and personal lives. Also,
if you register for the twenty twenty four PA Conference,
you will also be registered for free for the national
Conference which is happening in March. Well. As part of
our partnership with the Pennsylvania Conference, we present to you
women who inspire and joining us for that is our
(00:46):
inspiring woman. Susan Larkin, executive vice president and President of
Core Commercial Markets at Independence Health Group, which is the
parent company of Independence Blue Cross. Well, thank you so
much for joining us here today. She ate it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Well, let's begin a little bit about your origin story.
You've navigated through several decades of working in the healthcare industry,
and I wonder if you can talk a bit about
your journey and what are some of the benchmark support
that helped you navigate your.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Career right well, great, thrilled to be here this morning,
and so as I think about my career, my professional journey,
my entire career has actually been in the healthcare industry.
One of my first roles was at Independence Blue Cross
many many years ago. At that point, I was an
account executive, just really starting out, and I met a
woman that actually became my mentor for about twenty years
(01:42):
and really helped guide my career and shape my career.
And one of the key items that I found from
her is she inspired me in so many ways, but
also it was an opportunity for me to look at
her and see what worked and what didn't work. And
one of the things I learned from her was when
(02:04):
you are interacting with customers and individuals, everyone has a
different style and you need to adjust to that style.
And it's something that I have carried through my entire career.
After spending a few years at Independentiblue Cross, I decided
that I really wanted to be a consultant. I wanted
to understand the challenges that customers were facing in healthcare
(02:26):
and how I could make a difference. And so for
several years I worked at a national consulting firm and
really got under the covers in terms of what was
happening with customers and what were the challenges that they
were facing from a healthcare perspective. And then I decided
that I wanted to take that to the next level
and I wanted to start my own consulting practice. So
(02:47):
I decided that that's what I would do. And my
husband had a property and casualty company at the time,
and I decided that I would start the employee benefits
practice of brokerage professionals and I would take that passion
and that desire.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
That I had to really help clients and really be
a force for chain.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And I did that for many years before we decided
to sell, and after we sold, I still had that
passion and I.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Thought, what is the next level here?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Let me actually go from consulting and helping clients to
really the payer so that I now understand all aspects.
I understand what a customer faces, I understand what a
consultant bases, I understand what a broker phase is. And
let me take that knowledge to Independence Blue Cross. And
at Independence Blue Cross, I started out as the vice
(03:38):
president of account Management and I did that for several years.
And after that I decided that I wanted to change
and I essentially recreated my career and went from account
management to managing the p and ls. My background is
accounting and math, and I did that for several years.
And at Independence, we have a culture of really encouraging
(04:04):
a culture where women thrive, and for me, it was
just it's been a fabulous experience to be able to
collaborate with such powerful women. After taking on that p
and L role for a while, I became the senior
vice president of Health Markets and ultimately now the executive
vice president of Independence Blue Crosse.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So very excited for the journey that I've had.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
IBX has been a long time supporter of the Pennsylvania
Conference for Women, and I wonder if you can talk
about the impact of that partnership with Independence Lacross and
the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in terms of just what
you've gotten out of the participation and the support for
this conference at IBX.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So again, I think that my first year going to
the conference was when I joined Independence Blue Crosse and
really getting to see what the value is of the
networking opportunities and an opportunity to collaborate, and an opportunity to
be truly inspired.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And I think when you go to the conference.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
You really do have an opportunity to see all these
fabulous women and how they've navigated their career, and it's
impossible to walk away without being completely inspired about what
you want to do next in your journey. I believe
that we're all on a journey. We're in different areas
of that journey, but when you go to that conference,
(05:19):
you come back and you are excited about what you're
going to do next in your own journey.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Absolutely, and I find that every time I attend, and
we've been there from the very beginning, that I always
walk away with something that really was life changing, whether
it's something in my personal life or in my career life.
It is just an absolutely tremendous opportunity for growth in
all areas for women. And I know that there's so
much to look forward to, and in fact, some of
(05:47):
your colleagues are going to be hosting some very interesting workshops.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Very excited about that.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I will be attending so that I can be alongside
my colleagues and support them. We've got Courtney Cruz, which
we'll be doing Reinventing your Career Portfolio, which I'm very excited.
I do a program for the women of Independence through Lunchline,
and I've had Courtney on the program talking about her
journey and so it's going to be very exciting for
(06:14):
everyone to hear. We've got doctor Rita Kumar who will
be talking about living to thrive, not just to survive,
so everyone will absolutely love that session. And Reverend doctor
Lorena Marshall Bleak, which we'll be talking about navigating the
new Ark environment. So very excited to go and support
my colleagues and really for them to be able to
(06:34):
share their story with so many women.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Well. The Pennsylvania Conference for Women happening on November seventh.
The theme this year power in Unity and Susan Larkin.
If people want more information about independence blue Cross, where
do they.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Go wwibx dot com.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Fantastic and for information and tickets to the Pennsylvania Conference
for Women, go to Paconference for Women dot org. And
understand that if you get ticket to the November conference,
you get free entry to the national conference, which includes
speakers like Oprah Winfrey. So you definitely don't want to
miss that. Susan Larkin, executive vice president and president of
(07:13):
Core Commercial Markets at Independence Health Group, the parent company
of Independence Blue Cross, thank you for being today's women
who inspire. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Thank you
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