Manager of Consumer Experience for Humana
Marine Corps captain’s passion for working out fits his mission at work.
By Warren Duffie

Good health is a passion for Chris Palmisano. The Marine Corps Reserve captain is an avid runner and cyclist, and he brings his love of fitness to work each day.

Palmisano is a manager of consumer experience in the Innovation Center of Humana Inc. – one of America’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies. The Marine leads a team of analysts tasked with designing fun, interactive campaigns to help the public improve its health and well being.

“This is something that’s unique in the health care industry,” said Palmisano, 28. “Rather than having our customers simply react to what’s going on with their health, Humana wants to empower them to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. We feel like we’re inspiring a revolution in American health care culture today.”

On The Job
One spark in this revolution is Humana’s “Freewheelin’” cycle initiative, which encourages people to ride bicycles more. During last year’s Democratic and Republican national conventions, Humana distributed 1,000 bicycles (with gear) and launched a social media campaign to promote “Freewheelin.’” The result: Convention-goers rode 41,000 miles, burned 1.3 million calories and saved the environment 14.6 metric tons of carbon.

Another fun Humana program is its “Battle of the Bulge” video game, which was posted over Christmas. To participate, users go to “The Battle of the Bulge” Facebook page and answer a few questions about their lifestyles, including exercise and eating habits. Based on the responses, users are assigned a virtual waistline, affectionately called a “bellytar.” The goal of the game is to maintain an ideal weight.

“I’m lucky to work in a very dynamic environment with very passionate people,” Palmisano said. “My military background helps a great deal – especially with relationship-building, communication and problem-solving. But even beyond those are the timeless principles of honesty and integrity. A quick scan of today’s newspaper headlines illustrates why these principles are so vital to business success.”

The Company
Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., Humana is a full-service benefits solutions company – offering a wide array of health and supplementary benefit plans for employer groups, government programs and individuals. It has about 11.7 million medical members and 27,000 employees. Founded in 1961, Humana earned revenues of $25.3 billion in 2007.

Humana employees enjoy medical and dental benefits, life insurance, retirement plans such as a 401(k), tuition reimbursement, adoption assistance and flex-spending for dependents. The company also values military veterans, boasting an attractive junior military officer recruiting program.

In Uniform
The Marine Corps is an integral part of Palmisano’s family history. His grandfather fought in the Pacific during World War II and his father served in Vietnam. The Rochester, N.Y., native wanted to continue this tradition. He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology on an ROTC scholarship, graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s in business administration. After training as a communications officer at Quantico, Va., Palmisano was stationed at Camp Lejune before deploying to Iraq.

“My unit served in the Al Anbar province,” he said. “We conducted the first relief-in-place of a Marine communication battalion in a combat zone. It was an honor to be a part of that.”

The Transition
After his tour, Palmisano served at Camp Lejune before leaving active duty in 2006. He stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve. To prepare for his transition, Palmisano earned a master’s in information systems, reached out to friends and colleagues at various companies, and partnered with a recruiting firm that helped him land his job at Humana.

“My transition was very smooth,” he said. “However, I did have some adjustments to make. In the military, you spend months, sometimes years, in training before you’re on the job. In the civilian world, you’re tested right away and you have to learn quickly. A lot is thrown at you. Thankfully, the military is all about adaptability.”

Palmisano’s Advice