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Penny Buckner RN
Penny Buckner is a Registered Nurse with over 25 years of medical case management experience in Canada and the United States. Penny began her career managing STD and LTD claims for Canada Life and Sun Life. Penny helped pioneer the Early Intervention product at Sun Life and Liberty Health, consistently producing 20-30% reductions in claims costs. Penny then opened Strategic Absence Management Solutions, a boutique medical case management company providing STD, LTD, Workers’ Compensation case management and consulting for small to medium sized employers. In the US, as the Director of Clinical Quality for an IME company, Penny’s programs were instrumental in a achieving a 50% growth in business in 3 years due to increased customer satisfaction. Today, Penny manages the Canadian absence programs for Gate Gourmet Canada Inc., including employee absenteeism, STD and LTD claims, and Workers’ Compensation programs which achieved a 25% reduction in absenteeism in the first year and a 40% reduction the severity of Worker’s Compensation cases. Penny’s deep industry knowledge is key to creating innovative operational strategies that meet the needs of her customers. Her customer centric focus is instrumental in both customer satisfaction and business development achievements.
Suzanne Lepage
Private Health Plan StrategistSuzanne is a private health plan strategist who bridges the pharmaceutical and group benefits industry. Prior to beginning her consulting practice, Suzanne was National Manager Private Healthcare with the pharmaceutical company Roche Canada. During that time she developed and executed private healthcare strategies and managed a patient assistance program for biologic medications. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry Suzanne worked in group benefits for almost 20 years in a wide variety of roles, including managing drug programs for a major Canadian insurer. She is a frequent speaker and contributor to both private market and pharmaceutical industry conferences and publications.
Erica McGuinness
Sequeira PartnersSequeira Partners is a mid-market corporate finance firm with offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. They are industry leaders in sell-side transactions and related services. Erica's focus within the firm is on advising business owners across a diverse range of industries, with a specialization in Insurance Brokerage M&A's across Canada. She is passionate about developing strong business relationships with her clients and leading them through the complex (and often stressful) process of exiting their business or bringing on a new financial partner. Erica's background in competitive sports lends well to the competitive nature of M&A's – whether it's negotiating preferential terms or working diligently to find a partner that meets all of a client’s key objectives. Erica is also passionate about community and sport and serves on the Board of Directors at viaSport, and is the Chair of the Thunderbird Alumni Council at UBC. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, hiking the North Shore mountains, and improving her golf game.
Dave Patriarche
Mainstay Insurance BrokerageDave Patriarche founded Mainstay Insurance Brokerage in 1996 as a one-person shop specializing in providing employee benefits to small and mid-sized businesses in the Greater Toronto Area. Dave is a strong believer in continuing education and recognized the need for the group insurance industry to broaden its efforts in this area. In 2003 he started a small networking group, which evolved into regular breakfast meetings across the GTA, then into regular educational seminars beginning in 2009 when it became Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB). Dave is recognized as a leader in the group benefits industry, an accomplished speaker at industry events and a contributor to various industry publications. He mentors and acts as an informal resource to benefit brokers, and participates in industry think tank groups and panels to ensure the small group benefit space is well represented. Dave enjoys time with his family, and is a very proud "first-time" grandfather. He loves sailing both locally and internationally, and in 2019 sailed across the Atlantic ocean.