National Business Group on Health Appoints Judith Verhave, BNY Mellon HR Executive, as Board Chair

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Mar 10, 2015) - The National Business Group on Health announced today the appointment of Judith Verhave, executive vice president and global head of compensation and benefits at BNY Mellon, as chair of its board of directors, effective March 4, 2015. She succeeds Pamela Kimmet, who served as chair since 2009. Additionally, Thomas Oksanen, a benefits executive at Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Pascale Thomas, a benefits executive at Hearst Corporation, were elected to the elite board of directors. 

Ms. Verhave is an executive vice president and global head of compensation and benefits at BNY Mellon where she is responsible for the design and delivery of compensation, executive compensation including Board of Director's support and corporate governance, and benefits for the company's 50,000-person global workforce. She serves on BNY Mellon's operating committee. Ms. Verhave was first elected to the National Business Group on Health's Board of Directors in 2009 and currently serves on its governance committee.

"The Board has tremendous confidence in Judy's experience and leadership qualities, especially at a time when employers continue to face rising health care costs and are engaged in implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act," said Brian Marcotte, President and CEO of the National Business Group on Health. "Judy has spearheaded governance work for more than five years. Her knowledge, experience and commitment to the Board and all of our members make her the ideal candidate to serve as Board chair."

Tom Oksanen has over 30 years' experience in employee benefits and human resources management. Currently, he is vice president of employee benefits for Liberty Mutual Insurance where he has overall responsibility for benefits strategy, design, administration and communication in connection with a broad array of health and wellness, insurance, retirement and work/life benefit programs. Prior to his current role, Oksanen spent 26 years at Fidelity Investments. 

Pascale Thomas is currently head of benefits at Hearst Corporation, where she leads the design and deployment of employee benefit programs across the enterprise. Her industry expertise combines eight years in consulting and brokerage with more than 15 years in the corporate sector. Prior to joining Hearst, Pascale held successful compensation and benefit roles at Fortune 500 companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Verizon Communications, and Unilever. 

"We are extremely pleased that Tom and Pascale have agreed to serve on our board of directors and support our employer members with their ongoing healthcare benefit issues," said Judith Verhave, the newly-elected Chairman of the Board of the National Business Group on Health. "Both are true corporate leaders and I am confident that they will be tremendous assets to our board and members. I look forward to their future contributions."

About the National Business Group on Health(SM)
The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and providing practical solutions to its members' most important health care problems. The Business Group helps drive today's health agenda while promoting ideas for controlling health care costs, improving patient safety and quality of care and sharing best practices in health benefits management with senior benefits, HR professionals, and medical directors from leading corporations. Business Group members, which include 67 Fortune 100 companies, provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.