Benefits Influencer

Benefits Influencer

Benefits Influencer highlights the strategists, thought leaders, and operatives who are impacting, innovating, and elevating go-to-market strategies in the Employee Benefits and HR industry. Hosted by employee benefits GTM expert Dennis Carlson, each episode delivers actionable insights and tactics on go-to-market strategies for anyone selling employee benefits, total rewards, HR, work-tech, and digital health products and services through the benefits broker channel.

Episodes

May 21, 2025 30 mins

In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson interviews Steve Santangelo, Chief Revenue Officer at Garner Health, about their unique approach to healthcare cost management through provider quality assessment. The conversation offers benefits brokers and consultants valuable insights into innovative solutions for addressing rising healthcare costs at a time when employers are...

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In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson sits down with Sina Chehrazi, founder and CEO of Nayya. Nayya is an AI-powered platform that unlocks the value of Health & Wealth programs for employees in real time. They discuss how Nayya is transforming employee benefits by connecting disparate data points to create a personalized experience throughout the benefits lifecycle - from enrollment decisions to ongoing usage ...

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In this episode, Dennis Carlson sits down with Kristen Rivers, SVP of Sales at ParetoHealth. They discuss how mission-aligned benefits consultants and employers can access premium healthcare solutions typically reserved for large companies through captive healthcare models, highlighting the limitations of traditional fully-insured and level-funded plans while emphasizing the value of actio...

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In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson interviews Rachel Schneider, the CEO and founder of Canary, a company revolutionizing how employers support their workforce during times of crisis. Canary manages employee emergency relief funds, allowing companies to formalize a compassionate and equitable response when employees face unexpected hardships. Schneider, drawing from her extensive experience researching the f...

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Brandy Burch, CEO and founder of benefitbay, joins Dennis to discuss Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). Brandy shares her expertise on the evolution of the ICHRA market, strategic considerations for brokers, and the...
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    Dennis chats with Ryan Koo, an Employee Benefits Consultant who specializes in working with digital health companies.

    Ryan has just returned from the HLTH conference and shares his recap of the conference as well as his view on the digital health space.

    Tune in to learn about how digital health companies should be thinking about the employer channel as well as the employee benefits consultant channel.

    Ryan also shares his view of w...

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    Dennis Carlson and Benefits Influencer return with a recap of InsurTech Connect (ITC) with CEO & Co-Founder of Zoë Foundry, Garrett Viggers.

    Check out Zoë Foundry at www.zoefoundry.com

    Reach out at hello@zoefoundry.com

    Benefits Influencer is the #1 podcast for Employee Benefits Brokers and Advisors.

     

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    Dennis chats with Ty Wang, Co-Founder & CEO of Angle Health.

    Angle Health wants to make health benefits more accessible by connecting vendors that handle different services like telehealth and health savings accounts on a single platform. That way, employers of all sizes can offer a similar stack to the benefits you’d expect from a Fortune 500, but tailored for small to medium-sized businesses.

    Ty Wang is the Co-Founder and CEO of ...

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    August 9, 2023 32 mins

    Dennis welcomes SVP & Senior Partner at Burnham Benefits, Chris Krusiewicz back to the podcast.

    Chris has been tracking AI as it relates to healthcare and employee benefits for years and brings his latest insights to the benefits community.

    Chris and Dennis discuss AI and its impact on the employee benefits and healthcare industries today and what we can expect in the future.

    Check out Season 1 Episode 3 for the earlier interview w...

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    This episode originally aired in January 2020

    Charles Specht from The Permission Group shares how Benefits Brokers who target a micro niche can grow a massive book of business and better serve their clients.

    Connect with Charles at charles@permissiongroup.com

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    This episode orginally aired in March 2022.

    Ned Schaut talks with Becky Patel, CEO at Amwins Connect, about mentorship. Becky has over 35 years of experience in this business and shares the importance of both having a mentor and being a mentor. During the conversation they focus on the need to be authentic and know your secret sauce in the business.

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    This episode orginally aired in July 2020.

    Dennis and Chesley discuss ways to make employee benefits communication meaningful, relevant and timely in order to drive value for employers and employees.

    Connect with Chesley:

    chesley.gaddis@intrepid7.com

    http://intrepid7.com/

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    Dennis chats with Rachel Rutherford of ArmadaCare about Executive Benefits and how to position Executive Medical reimbursement to attract and retain top talent.

    Find Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelgann/

    Reach out at rrutherford@aramadacare.com

    visit https://armadacare.com/ for more info

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    Dennis chats with Spencer Smith about how benefits advisors can leverage social media to grow their pipeline and increase sales.

    Find Spencer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

    Check out Spencer's podcast here: https://spencerharlansmith.com/

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerSmithSelfFunded

    For more info on Plansight visit: https://www.plansight.com/

     

     

     

     

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    Dennis chats with Kevin Curran, Founding Partner of Salt Margin a Baldwin Risk Company.

    Listen in as they discuss ways Benefits Brokers can win with a too often overlooked part of the benefits package, ancillary.

    Kevin outlines three ways brokers and advisors can get started with becoming true consultants on ancillary, just like they already are on medical insurance.

    Kevin uncovers some key group life and disability policy provisio...

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    Dennis chats with The D.I. Coach, Chris Carlson about how benefits brokers and advisors can better position (or start positioning for the first time) disability insurance with their clients.

    Chris began his insurance career as a Brokerage Consultant with Provident Life
    and Accident in 1984.  After working with Provident as a Consultant, District
    Manager and Branch Manager, he formed his own independent Disability
    Insurance Marketin...

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    Dennis chats with Executive Benefits expert, Helen Ornellas.  Helen is the President and Founder of Ornellas & Associates Insurance Services.

    Based in California, Helen Ornellas specializes in Executive Benefits using Life Insurance, Disability, and Long Term Care to provide solutions. With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Helen represents many different insurance companies offering a wide variety of coverage ...

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    Dennis chats with Noyo CEO and Co-Founder, Shannon Goggin.

    Listen as they discuss how poor data quality prevents the benefits industry from delivering the modern experiences today’s consumers want. Addressing these challenges at the carrier and ben-admin level with clean, always updated enrollment data lets HR professionals and brokers truly remove friction for members — while paving the way for frictionless benefits that are easy ...

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    Dennis chats with Kevin Trokey. 

    Kevin is the Founding Partner of Q4intelligence, a marketing and sales enablement firm committed to the preservation and transformation of the independent agency system. He writes prolifically regarding the many challenges being faced by today’s agencies, providing guidance to overcome those challenges. He is a frequent industry speaker and has been recognized by the National Association of Health U...

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    Dennis interviews Benefits Advisors Andrew McNeil and Rosario Avila of Arrow Benefits Group.  They discuss how winning awards and writing columns contribute to their position as thought leaders in the community and with their clients.  They also discuss strategies they've found work well with small group clients in a post-COVID environment.

    Find Andrew and Rosario on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-d-mcneil-5a45559/

    ht...

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