#Retired!

What!? How did this happen so fast and so slow all at the same time? 13 years ago, over a glass (aka bottles) of wine and a bunch of napkins, Susanne Cookson and I sketched out our original concept for a pharmacist rewards program.

With two young kids and zero safety net, I’m not sure how I had the guts to take the leap, but somehow, I knew I had to do it. I quit my job and the BestLifeRewarded journey began. Luckily (i.e., through a ton of hard work and perseverance), I had some good relationships in the pharmacy world that allowed me to get meetings to at least pitch the rewards concept. Within a few weeks, we realized it was going to be an uphill battle with the ever-changing rules for pharmacy professional allowances. With no money coming in, we had to pivot fast and morphed the idea into a patient adherence program based on Susanne’s ideas and experience as a Product Manager in pharma. Rewarding patients for their healthy behaviours had never been done before. It was a huge leap from giving out blood pressure monitors through doctors, but it made total sense to leverage retail rewards programs that everyone was obsessed with.

While the idea was brilliant, there was major hesitation in the market - no one wanted to add fuel to the “big bad pharma” fire with any potential perception of inducements. There were many naysayers, but we managed to gain early support from some very important players in the industry ( Ray Chepesiuk , Crawford Wright , Theresa Firestone , Rania Cassar-Awe , Jenna Momy , Gerard Gregory , Michael Cloutier and John McKendry ) and eventually, some tough regulators wrote us letters of support. This was a game-changer.

Within about 6 months, we landed several large contracts and Susanne was able to leave her job in pharma. On June 23rd of 2011, we officially launched the first version of BestLifeRewarded with 6 sponsored patient support programs and tremendous support from one of the most talented pharmacists in the country, Michael Boivin . Mike is so talented as both a medical writer and health promotion expert. He was a lifesaver for us early days and I can’t say enough about him after working with him for over 17 years.

Through 2011-2013, we launched about a dozen more pharma brands and won the lottery when we brought Sue Herdman and Joelle Trudeau to help us deliver. In 2012, I was invited to speak at the Cayman Islands Healthcare 20/20 conference through a referral from Peggy Ahearn . This opportunity got us in front of the CEO of the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company (CINICO) and turned in to our first corporate wellness insurance company partner. From there, we were able to land pilot projects with Walmart ( Joseph Chan ), Rogers ( David Satok ), Magna ( Christine Davis ) and Tim Hortons (@Miles Matatall). We were forging new paths for science-based wellness. No more ticking boxes. No more cookie-cutter wellness libraries. No more over-promising and under-delivering.

We started gaining recognition. We did talks at several international congresses, highlighted as a best practice approach. This leadership position helped us secure our first major group benefits partner in Canada, Green Shield. David Willows and Charles Rosen immediately ‘got it’ and fully-embraced our vision to change the face of healthcare in Canada. Green Shield’s version of BestLifeRewarded, called Change4Life was a first in the Canadian market. It was so rewarding working with David and his team Peter Gove , Sarah Murphy (she/her) , Karen Sportelli and Lisa B. . They walked the talk and were so passionate about innovation. It was magic.

In 2015, we met the unbelievably talented Mark Razzolini through a corporate mental health program we launched in partnership with Lundbeck Canada. 6 months later, we launch the Balance Program for all plan members at Alberta Blue Cross. To this day, I have not met anyone in the industry more committed to the well-being of his own team, plan members and the community/province at large. Mark deserves the #OrderofCanada for the positive impact he’s made during his career. His team, Melanie Fuller , Aaron Robinson , Linda Crawford has been so inspiring for their dedication and commitment to wellness. Playing a small role in the work Mark’s team is doing has been a real career highlight for me.

Reflecting on the early years at BLR, we had some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. While it was mostly good, there were also some really bad times. I was so na?ve about how many crooks and jerks there are out there. People trying to our steal ideas, IP, clients, source code and even the entire business with ‘bait and switch’ investment ploys. Through all of it, plus some major personal challenges along the way, we somehow persevered. One of the biggest reasons we made it Susanne’s ability to find humour in literally any situation. I will always remember those times as some of the absolute best memories even though at times, our world was literally crumbling around us.

I will miss the unbelievably talented team at BestLifeRewarded, especially Joelle Trudeau and Sue Herdman . These incredible leaders have been with us since the beginning. Joelle has been our behind-the-scenes boss since she started. She is the most organized operational leader I have ever seen. Sue is the most caring mentor and somehow always manages to stay calm, even under the extremely trying circumstances. I will always love and admire these two incredible leaders.

I could not have asked for a better business partner than Susanne Cookson . She has THE most incredible talent for making the most complex issues seem simple, dealing with difficult situations head on and always finding humour even in the toughest times. I am so grateful for her and the amazing friendship we’ve built over almost 20 years. We’ve literally been through the ringer together and somehow, made it out with only a few scars. We are sisters for life – the journey we’ve shared was so special and unique. No one will ever truly know or understand what we’ve been through. I’m so glad we did it together. Ride or die, forever.

We have so many incredible supporters that made our journey so rewarding along the way. To name a few; Rhiannon Rosalind , a true leader and inspiration ahead of her time in so many ways. Rhiannon always supported us and gave us major advantages with absolutely zero expectation in return. Neil Follett who gave us the biggest lift when we needed it most. Larry Gu and Alvin Lo , the most amazing development partners we could have ever dreamed of - can not say enough about how amazing E&W Development Center is. Kim Duxbury who advocated and took a leap with BLR at Sun Life and Kate Nazar for being such an inspiring leader. Shann McGrail at Haltech - the biggest genuine supporter of women in tech. Jag Basrai and Jason Daly, MBA another key partner to BLRI for our hosting infrastructure. Jakub Jackowski who was always there when our computers imploded.

I am so proud of the legacy we created with BestLifeRewarded. We set out to create a ‘coordinated assault’ to change the face of healthcare in Canada and we did that. We changed the game for corporate wellness and patient support. We’ve made a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of Canadians. We advanced the need for science-based approaches and tangible results. We created a team that truly cares about their work, the well-being of our members and each other. I can’t wait to see what People Corporation Joseph De Dominicis , Judy Plotkin (she/her) , Caroline Bariquello Nancy Campbell and Frank Valeriani do next. It was an absolute pleasure working with them over the past couple of years. I know they will take BestLifeRewarded to the next level with Sue, Joelle and Zeeshan Bhayani .

The takeaways - stuff I’ve learned over the last 25 years (and wish I knew earlier):

·?????Networking sucks, but it’s totally worth the effort

·?????Hard work does pay off, but it’s not necessarily immediate

·?????Life isn’t fair - get over it

·?????You can’t be perfect at everything – if you are career-focused, there will be personal sacrifices

·?????Give yourself some grace - we’re all doing our best at any given time

·?????The loudest person in the room is usually not the smartest

·?????A—holes have to live with themselves - that’s payback enough

·?????Be kind. One small act of kindness can change the trajectory of another person’s life

·?????Trust your gut – it’s right 99.99% of the time

·?????Surround yourself with people who want to see you happy and successful

·?????Confidence is everything - believe in yourself

Not sure what’s next for me but looking forward to taking a breather to figure it out. #livingmybestlife #newchapter #retirement