Christopher C. Booth
CEO, The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, Inc.
Headquarters: Rochester, New York
Website: www.excellusbcbs.com
Primary Business: Healthcare financing and delivery
Revenues: $6 billion
Employees: 6,400
Actions Must Speak Louder Than Words
Our first business strategy—a motivated workforce—recognizes that employees are the backbone of our company. We want employees to feel valued for their contributions to customers, communities and company. We’ve committed to becoming a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For by 2016. Employees who are proud of their work, trust each other, and enjoy working with their colleagues result in satisfied and loyal customers, a competitive edge, and a positive bottom line.
Diversity and inclusion are inherent in our mission of providing affordable access to healthcare. Our employees and board of directors must mirror our members, patients, and communities. An emphasis on inclusion helps retain and recruit the best and brightest and enhances a culture of respect, fairness, and camaraderie. Because we value different perspectives, employees feel empowered to offer innovative solutions.
As the new CEO of The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, my actions must speak louder than my words in terms of diversity and inclusion. As a former practicing attorney, I know it’s the law. As a person, I know it’s the right thing to do.
Our C-Suite is becoming more diversified. Dorothy Coleman, our first woman chief financial officer and executive vice president, chairs our Diversity Advisory Council. Recently, Wheeler Coleman joined us as chief information officer from Health Care Service Corp. Our Office of Inclusion is led by Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Marie Philippe. In addition to recruiting employees for board service and community project participation, she’s fostered the multicultural makeup of our employee population.
Through our Diverse Talent Acquisition programs, we’ve collaborated with inner city schools to give twenty high school students work experience, presented—with the Urban League and Black Nurses Association—scholarships to three minority urban scholars pursuing healthcare careers; sponsored two undergraduate diversity scholarships annually at St. John Fisher College; given forty college interns work experience so far; implemented ten employee resource groups including the Women & Empowerment Network and Veterans Group; and encouraged formal/informal mentoring to help employees better understand each other one-on-one.
We were honored with the Profiles in Diversity Journal Diversity Leader award in 2012 and have received local recognition from the LGBT community, Rochester School District, and City of Rochester.
I dream of a time when there’s no need to hold companies and employees accountable for diversity and inclusion because our differences are treasured as a source of strength and pride.
Education: BA, College of the Holy Cross; JD, Albany Law School of Union University
First Job: Bagging groceries
What I’m Reading: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, by Christopher McDougall
My Philosophy: Respect everyone. Listen. Think before acting. Act with commitment and drive.
Best Advice: Be yourself. Trust your instincts.
Interests: Running, reading, and golf
does any one have any previous experience working or interviewing with this company???
I have a cousin that works for the NYPD fraud department and they are all over this group of frauds.
If I were you I wouldn’t talk to them or except a job because you’re going to get busted very, very soon.
They are also using Marie Phillipe now. Unfortunately.