2021 Women to Watch Awards Americas EMEA
Brooke Runnion Executive vice president
Lockton Cos. LLC
Kansas City, Mo.
For Brooke Runnion, assisting clients with their health care and employee benefit programs is part of a personal mission to help people lead happier and healthier lives, and it stems in part from her own severe battle with depression in her early 20s.
At the time, Ms. Runnion said, she never sought outside help and instead worked through it on her own.
“As I’ve reflected back on my personal journey, I’ve realized that I probably would have accelerated through recovering from that faster if I had known about the tools and resources available,” she said.
When Ms. Runnion started at Lockton 12 years ago, she knew it was a company she wanted to build a career with, and she remains committed to her work connecting people to the right health and wellness programs.
It’s a complicated and changing time for the health care industry and those businesses that offer benefits to their employees, she said. She’s had to think creatively, including helping to launch a group captive for a member-owned risk retention group in the senior living space.
She’s also keen to ensure that Lockton leads by example and is involved in several women’s leadership and diversity initiatives, including the company’s Women in Leadership program and the Black and African American Lockton Empowered Associates Networks.
While she is encouraged by the change she has seen within the insurance industry in these areas, more changes are still needed, she said.
Michelle Robin, founder of the wellness organization Small Changes Big Shifts, saw Ms. Runnion’s leadership firsthand last year when she worked with her on a 31-day kindness campaign that touched more than 250,000 people worldwide. Ms. Runnion takes a “global holistic view” that is needed in today’s times, she said.
“It’s not just about the transaction for Brooke — it’s about the lifetime relationship and how can she add value not only to your professional life but to your personal life, as well as the global community,” Ms. Robin said.
