Fostering whole life wellness

CREATING A BETTER PATH: CVS Health Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Bisaccia is proud of the company's decision to eliminate the sale of tobacco products in 2014. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
CREATING A BETTER PATH: CVS Health Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Bisaccia is proud of the company's decision to eliminate the sale of tobacco products in 2014. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

CAREER ACHIEVER

“Health is everything” is a well-known saying at CVS Health Corp.

And that tenet not only includes the Woonsocket-based company’s many customers, but each and every one of its employees.

“One of the areas I’m really focused on is advancing the wellness of our 240,000 employees, and I continue to challenge my team to develop a variety of tools and services to help our workforce choose healthier lifestyles,” said Lisa Bisaccia, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for the $153 billion retail pharmacy and benefits-management giant.

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Bisaccia’s own beginnings in the human resources arena were rather happenstance, she says.

After graduating from Trinity College in Hartford with a degree in modern languages (focusing on Renaissance Italian and Spanish poetry), and earning her MBA from the University of Connecticut, Bisaccia accepted a position as a recruiter in the HR department at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.

Though admitting that she accepted that job early in her career due largely to the fact that it was the first solid offer she had received, Bisaccia quickly learned more about the broad discipline of human resources.

But, she says, it really wasn’t until several years later that she realized that being a chief human resources officer for a large company was within her grasp and would bring her professional satisfaction.

“Like many first starting out, I suppose I thought the hospital would be the stage for an entire career,” Bisaccia said. “But then I relocated to Boston with my husband … and I eventually landed in compensation and benefits in financial services.”

In that new role, with FleetBoston Financial, Bisaccia advanced quickly due in great part, she says, to her openness to take on new assignments and learn new skills.

In 2004, Bisaccia took on another new challenge, accepting a job as senior vice president in human resources at then-CVS Corp.

“Five years later, I was leading all of human resources for one of the nation’s leading health care companies,” she said. “It’s funny, had I mapped out this career path, I probably would’ve missed the professional and personal opportunities that presented themselves.”

Today, Bisaccia is involved with projects designed to help her colleagues and their families manage and improve their health. She is particularly proud of the progress the company has made in promoting diversity and inclusion.

“We expanded our benefits package to include health insurance coverage for the medically necessary health care services that transgender people need, including transition-related treatment,” she said. “This decision has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which granted CVS Health a perfect score of 100 percent for the past two years on its Corporate Equality Index.”

Last December, CVS Health announced the acquisition of Target’s pharmacy and clinic businesses. The company will operate Target’s 1,672 pharmacies across 47 states, furthering the company’s corporate growth strategy.

“The transaction grew our pharmacy and retail clinic count by 20 percent and 8 percent, respectively, and expanded our presence to regions such as Seattle, Denver, Portland and Salt Lake City,” she said.

But, her greatest experience at CVS Health so far was playing a key role in the company’s 2014 decision to eliminate tobacco-product sales from its retail pharmacies – a particularly difficult decision given that it would result in a $2 billion revenue loss.

“Being part of the leadership team that made the ground-breaking decision to stop selling tobacco in our stores was a professional experience that people can only dream about,” Bisaccia said. “I’ve never felt prouder to be part of an organization.”

Helena Foulkes, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS/pharmacy, says Bisaccia provides a strong voice to the company.

“I’ve known Lisa for the better part of 15 years, and have enjoyed our working partnership and our friendship,” Foulkes said. “She is a trusted business partner to all of us on the management team. Lisa lives our corporate values, which she has also helped to shape. She encourages innovation and collaboration, and manages with great care and integrity.

“It’s not easy to manage the human resources functions for a workforce of 240,000 employees, especially during a time of great change in our industry and at our company. But Lisa … and her team have done an expert job of building a corporate culture where every colleague is focused on delivering our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.” •

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