93% registration in year one. 97% enrollment. 58% of high-risk employees reducing BMI. Purpose-led benefits programs produce results.
At Thrive Summit 2026, Personify Health recognized 13 clients across five award categories. Every winner shared one thing: a deeply personal “why” behind their benefits strategy. From a global steps challenge that raised $25,000 for charity to direct health system contracts that contain costs, their stories show what happens when engagement is built on purpose — not just programs.
When health benefits leaders lead with purpose, health outcomes change
We believe the most powerful driver of better health isn’t a platform feature or a program design. Its purpose. Or better yet, a meaningful ‘why.’
The why someone shows up every day, advocates for their people, and refuses to settle for a benefits strategy that simply checks a box.
At Thrive Summit 2026, we recognized 13 clients with our annual Thrive Awards. Across five categories, one thing connected every winner: a clear, deeply personal reason behind everything they do for their people.
When we asked them a simple question “What’s your why?,” their answers offered valuable lessons for the benefits community on improving health outcomes and costs.
Here’s what they had to say:
Wellbeing is a way of life, not a program
The most consistent thread across this year’s honorees? A refusal to treat health as a transactional exercise.
- For Linzy Cook at Helen of Troy, the mission is clear: give associates the resources they need to be their best selves, wherever they are in their own unique journey.
- Dana Banicki at Arthur J. Gallagher put it simply: when you’re happy and healthy at home, it translates to work. And vice versa.
- Jasmine Miller at St. Luke’s Health System left us with this mic drop response: her why is to empower people to live their best lives.
That belief shows up in the numbers. St. Luke’s achieved 93% program registration among benefit-enrolled employees in their first year. Helen of Troy helped 87% of their members improve their health. Gallagher’s Thrive program runs at 79% enrollment and 50% sustained engagement globally.
The intention is clear, and so is the impact: purpose-led programs produce results.
Reaching every person, wherever they are
Some of this year’s winners are solving one of the hardest problems in benefits: building a culture of health across vastly different populations, geographies, and contexts.
- For Nicole Caruso at Hubbell Incorporated, the why is impact. Every day, she looks for ways to do something meaningful for her employees. Over seven years, Personify has helped Hubbell bridge its US and global workforce through shared challenge programs rooted in their wellbeing pillars. In 2025, that included a global steps challenge that raised $25,000 for Doctors Without Borders and Habitat for Humanity.
- Janay Hanna at Coralisle Group is doing the same across the Caribbean, spanning the Bahamas, Bermuda, Trinidad, Barbados, and beyond. The ability to track engagement across jurisdictions and build culturally relevant experiences has been the difference.
- Pratt & Whitney echoed the same truth: when participation is prioritized and visibility is built in from the start, the majority of employees improve their healthy lifestyle habits. Their data backs it: 76% global enrollment and 71% of previously inactive, high-risk individuals becoming active.
Make the healthy choice the easy choice
A recurring theme from the winners: complexity is the enemy of engagement.
- Traci Zimmerman at Humana pointed to a centralized place where associates can find the resources, programs, and benefits they need as the engine behind 82% enrollment and over 13.7 billion steps logged in a single 100-day challenge.
- Rebecca Fries at PPL Corporation said it directly. PPL is a utilities company with a notoriously hard-to-reach workforce. Her take? When you put everything in one place, people can access it. And this how you can impact culture. 97% enrollment and climbing engagement heading into 2026 prove the point.
- Jeannie Gray at McKesson saw the same dynamic in their first year on the platform. Bringing all health and wellbeing benefits together created front door access that employees actually used. Not just for challenges, but for the 30-plus benefits they didn’t know they had until they needed them.
For more on building a culture of engagement, check out: 6 ways to drive employee health engagement and show ROI
Real impact means real outcomes.
Two Outcomes Award winners showed what happens when engagement is built on purpose and sustained over time.
- Amanda Accatino at the State of Arizona pointed to her team as her why: people with a shared passion for serving others. Across 71,000 state employees since 2021, that passion has translated into 58% of high-risk individuals reducing their BMI, 75% lowering their blood pressure, and a climb to number 30 on the Top 100 Healthiest Companies in America.
- For Kara Trebs at Sunwest Bank, the why is financial. Healthcare spending represents 18% of the United States GDP – roughly $5.3 trillion. Every dollar she can put back in an employee’s pocket to spend on family and time is the mission. That conviction led to direct contracts with major health systems, meaningful cost containment, and a benefits innovation model that keeps raising the bar.
The why runs deep here, too
These 13 organizations also share something with us.
Health isn’t a deliverable. It’s a commitment. A daily choice to do something meaningful for the people who show up, work hard, and deserve to feel supported.
That commitment drives everything we do at Personify. And it doesn’t stop with our clients.
Curious what it looks like from the inside? Explore the stories of our own people and discover how deep our why runs.