Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
In 2020, after eight years of caregiving, my wife and I both lost our mothers; feeling (understandably) untethered from the world at large, we sold our house, bought a 40-foot-long motorhome, and hit the road. We supported two small businesses while we traveled – no easy feat in the best of times, even more difficult during a global pandemic. During our travels, we visited cities and towns across America, and we had the opportunity to explore our great country. We had the luxury of seeing nearly every part of America – up close and personal. Along the way, after talking with many of them, I gained a heartfelt appreciation for all business owners. What we also discovered was that our long simmering passion – as Charleston natives – for the Lowcountry was reinforced, and we knew that we wanted to return to the area permanently. Fripp Island is a place we are excited to call home, and to become an integral part of the community. I recognize that I am just one part of the great teams I have served in my career. In addition, I have enjoyed being surrounded by some of our best leaders – both in the U.S. and abroad. With a lot of hard work, I have been recognized as a global thought leader with an enviable track record of success across a wide range of industries, company sizes and business conditions. I am known for creating innovative, groundbreaking, and industry leading solutions for highly complex business, employee, and cultural challenges. Earlier in my career, I co-founded WorldWideWellbeing.org and received some very special recognition, including being named to the “20 to Watch List” by Business Insurance Magazine, and I was the winner of multiple national awards including Benefits Executive of the Year, the Employer Health & Productivity Award. Now, I am embarking on a new and exciting way to serve others. I have expanded my McSwain Group offerings to bring proven technologies and services to empower businesses of all sizes. I’m committed to helping you navigate your business challenges with the expertise and resources that have powered some of the world’s largest companies.
Think-X Solutions brings together the practical insights of technology and Fortune 500 benefits industry executives with decades of combined experience in benefit offerings. Think-X Solutions applies rigorous evaluation criteria to identify and vet products and services, then collaborates with brokers and benefit purchasers to quickly identify programs that lower costs, lift engagement, and keep workforces and budgets winning together.
Whether start-up or jumbo, we partner with your team to leverage our award-winning experiences, gained while leading transformation and change successfully despite highly complex business, employee and cultural challenges across an array of employers. • Service areas include employer benefit purchasing consulting, advisor engagements, disruptive data solutions, strategic investing, and global impact. • Co-founded the “World Wide Wellbeing” initiative bringing global thought leaders together from varied organizations; Harvard University, X-Prize, The United Nations, DOW, World Bank, Samueli Institute, OECD, Gallup, and Healthways. www.worldwidewellbeing.org • Delegate to Global Knowledge Exchange Network (GKEN). Sampling of companies supporting GKEN include National University of Singapore, NHS Confederation, University of Cambridge, Oxford Alliance, and Hong Kong Hospital Authority. (2007–2012) • Provided leadership support of the “Global Healthy Workplace Awards” program in London (2013) and Shanghai. (2014) • Advisor to Vida Health, and AirCare Health. • Published WINNING TOGETHER – with IBI. Over 5,000 copies of media distributed to employers, suppliers, and consultants. The content was designed to help employers learn how to convert vendor relationships into partnerships and provide a framework for vendor summits. (2010)
• During tenure as President, IBI developed and implemented new strategic messaging, a modern website, as well as the innovations of showcasing emerging technology companies, IBInext, and IBILabs at the 2018 annual Forum in San Francisco.
• Recruited to be Named Executive Officer (NEO), with ownership, reporting directly to the CEO with Board of Director accountability. Joined Aasonn to expand my career portfolio beyond publicly traded companies. • In one year, Chris was able to dramatically accelerate the pace of change and the vision he had for transformation across the Strategy, Marketing and Human Resources functions. • Created and implemented new business strategies approved by Board which provided differentiation and positioned company as leader in emerging industry category. • Redefined company mission, vision, values and culture aligned with new company identity. Led all aspects of HR initiatives impacting compensation, benefits, talent and technology. • Led the development of all new marketing including thought leadership white paper, solution graphics, and totally new website (www.aasonn.com).
• Led U.S. Benefits team, 120 associates, serving 1.4M associates. Developed five year strategic plan to drive innovative solutions uniquely suited to Walmart’s combination of assets. Changed the conversation from viewing benefits as cost to an investment. • Created new organizational design enabling greater team performance to meet high business and associate expectations. New design supporting U.S. Benefits had four benefits businesses: Health Care (medical, pharmacy, vision, dental), Wellbeing, Integrated Absence Management (STD, LTD, ADAAA, leaves, PTO) and Financial (401k, voluntary), and all four supported by two newly created teams of Business Intelligence and Shared Services. Talent and succession pipelines strengthened across all teams, annually producing top performing levels of associate engagement survey results. • In a bold move, established partnerships working horizontally across other Walmart business segments for the first time in Walmart’s 50 year history. Partnerships produced initial launch of Walmart Care Clinics and national rollout of comprehensive wellbeing program to all 1.4M associates. This move generated breakthrough engagement results, and exciting marketplace opportunities for H&W and Financial Services Divisions. • Created Centers of Excellence (COE) implemented for spine, heart and transplant surgeries with six leading hospital systems. COE provides exclusive bundled pricing and direct contracting. Best practices shared via Employers Center of Excellence Network (ECEN). • Designed, initiated and implemented a new Integrated Absence Management strategy and function. Included realignment of resources across Walmart to centralize within U.S. Benefits, new suppliers and plan designs for STD/LTD, leave management, ADAAA and paid time off. Supplier integration improved quality, associate experience and reduced spend.