Aligned for Impact with Matthew Naylor

On this episode, Matt Naylor is joined by Joe Sweeney and George Foley of Crumdale Specialty to discuss the challenges of healthcare cost containment and the need for a more connected approach to self-funded healthcare. Drawing on decades of experience across insurance, clinical care, stop loss, and healthcare strategy, Joe and George explore how fragmentation, misaligned incentives, and disconnec...

On this episode, Matt Naylor is joined by Amber Hickman, co-founder of Hickman & Knox, to discuss her journey from healthcare administration and national brokerage firms to building an independent benefits firm focused on creative, high-value healthcare solutions. Amber shares how working with self-funded hospital clients opened her eyes to innovative plan design, including strategies that can...

On this episode, Matt Naylor is joined by Pat Isaac, founder of Capital Services, to discuss her journey from immigrating to the United States as a child to building an independent employee benefits firm centered on integrity, relationships, and doing the right thing for clients. Pat shares how her experience on both the carrier and broker sides of the industry led her to start her own company in...

Matt Naylor is joined by Brett Morris, founder of the Samaritan Fund, to discuss how a simple but transformative idea is helping employers reduce healthcare costs while providing financial relief to members facing serious illnesses. Brett shares his journey from financial advisor and employee benefits consultant to entrepreneur, explaining how firsthand experiences with rising medical costs inspir...

Matt Naylor is joined by Heather Reimer, Vice President of Key Accounts at Gallagher, to discuss her journey through nearly every corner of the healthcare industry—from provider billing and credentialing to third-party administration and employee benefits consulting. Heather shares why she believes employers need more innovative funding strategies, how consultants can help organizations move beyon...

Matt Naylor sits down with Kevin Reid, SVP of Crumdale Specialty's Stop Loss & Sales Operations, to discuss the evolving stop loss insurance market and why employers need to think beyond price when designing self-funded health plans. Kevin reflects on his unique career journey across healthcare providers, insurance carriers, and brokerage firms, explaining how those experiences shaped his pers...

Matt Naylor sits down with Ben Inabinet, Head of Sales, TPA & Enterprise at Crumdale Specialty, to discuss his journey from workers' compensation technology and predictive analytics to helping redefine the future of third-party administration. Ben shares how personal experiences with the healthcare system shaped his passion for improving outcomes, why transparency and accountability are essent...

On this episode, Matt Naylor is joined by Santosh Vallabhaneni, co-founder and CEO of Rovi Health, to discuss how AI, clinical data, and personalized care navigation can transform the healthcare experience for employers and their members. Santosh shares his journey from fintech and healthcare startups to launching Rovi Health, explains why healthcare remains one of the most inefficient markets, an...

Matt Naylor is joined by Rich Wipperfurth, Chief Growth Officer at WelldyneRX, to discuss his unconventional journey from county social worker to healthcare executive and how that experience shaped his passion for improving patient outcomes. Rich shares why alignment, transparency, and clinical integrity are essential to the future of pharmacy benefit management, how Welldyne is challenging indust...

Matt Naylor sits down with Chris Wilson, President of Healthcare Highways, to discuss his journey from entrepreneur and benefits advisor to leading one of the healthcare industry's most innovative network organizations. Chris shares how lessons learned from building and selling his own brokerage firm shaped his approach to healthcare, why transparency and alignment are critical to fixing rising he...

Matt Naylor sits down with Rob Adams, CFO of Crumdale Specialty, to trace the arc of a career built on persistence, differentiation, and calculated risk. Rob opens up about his early inflection points—switching from public school to all-boys Malvern Prep (which turned his grades around), fighting the administration for the right to recruit with Big 4 accounting firms as an econ major, and the frus...

Matt is joined by Shawn Kanungo, who shares his perspective on why AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time and how it will reshape every industry. He explains that success in an AI-driven world isn’t about prompt engineering, but about creativity, context, and the ability to generate ideas that AI can execute. Shawn breaks down how individuals at every stage of their career s...

Matt is joined by Rod Strata Jr., who shares his journey from cold-calling medical supplies and college recruiting to leading benefits strategy at GDK. He explains how those early experiences built resilience and shaped his approach to helping employers navigate the complexities of healthcare. Rod breaks down why transparency and access to data are critical in a system where prices can vary dramat...

Matt is joined by Eric O’Brien, who shares his journey from aspiring professional lacrosse player to founding Mosaic Employee Benefits after recognizing the disruption coming with the Affordable Care Act. Drawing on his experience as an athlete, Eric explains how resilience, discipline, and a competitive mindset shaped his approach to building a business and serving clients. He breaks down how edu...

Matt is joined by Buzz Hannum and Tonya Crawford, who share their journeys into the insurance and healthcare space and how they came together at Crumdale Specialty. Buzz started on the broker side, developing a focus on risk management and alternative financing, while Tonya transitioned from a clinical healthcare role into the business side, keeping patient outcomes at the center of her work. Toge...

Matt is joined by Ahmed Marmoush, who shares his journey from growing up in a family of pharmacists to building a healthcare technology company aimed at fixing inefficiencies in the U.S. system. After working across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and eventually the U.S., he became frustrated by the lack of transparency and high costs in American healthcare, sparking the idea for Handl Health. The...

Matthew Naylor interviews Joe Hessling, CFO of Parcels, about his career in finance and the challenges of managing healthcare costs for a growing, people-focused business. Joe shares how years in the fully insured market led to frustration with rising costs, lack of transparency, and limited control over decision-making. He explains how transitioning to a level-funded model and eventually into a c...

Matthew Naylor interviews Ryan Hanratty of Swingle Collins, who shares how his path from professional golf into employee benefits shaped his work ethic and approach to business. He explains how resilience, discipline, and learning from failure translated directly into building and growing a successful benefits practice. Ryan discusses how his firm focuses on educating employers about alternatives...

Matthew Naylor interviews Don Gasparro, who shares his journey from aspiring teacher to actuary and eventually to building and scaling a major stop loss insurance business. After early roles at Aetna and in consulting, Don co-founded Apex Management Group, which grew through its data-driven approach before being acquired by Gallagher. Don explains how thinking creatively, developing new structures...

Matthew Naylor interviews Jeramie Holt, director of employee benefits at FNIC, about his path from car sales into the insurance world and how he helped build FNIC’s presence in Colorado. Jeramie shares how his early sales background shaped his approach and why he moved away from traditional brokerage models. He explains his focus on a more consultative strategy, helping employers think long-term a...

Matthew Naylor interviews Judy Young, who leads the employee benefits department at Dean and Draper, about her journey into the insurance and benefits space and the evolving challenges within healthcare. Judy shares how she worked her way up from administrative roles into brokerage, offering insight into how benefits teams support employers through implementation, employee access, and ongoing plan...

On this episode of Alignment for Impact, Matthew Naylor sits down with Crumdale Specialty founding partners Jake and Brian to reflect on the journey of building a company rooted in alignment, culture, and long term impact. They share their personal paths into entrepreneurship, from law and finance to insurance and healthcare, and how early relationships, curiosity, and a willingness to ask why sha...

On this episode of Alignment for Impact, host Matthew Naylor sits down with Kelly Brady to explore what it really means to move from transactional insurance brokerage to true healthcare consulting. Kelly shares his path from Wisconsin into the employee benefits space, the mentors who shaped his approach, and how his role has evolved into one focused on partnership, education, and long term impact...

On this episode of Alignment for Impact, host Matthew Naylor sits down with Jim Andrews to unpack a career shaped by grit, loyalty, and an athlete’s mindset. Jim traces his journey from growing up in Philadelphia to competing and coaching at the Division I level, then navigating a winding professional path that took him from coaching and hospitality into sales leadership at high-growth tech compan...

In this episode of Aligned for Impact, Matt Naylor is joined by Angie Martinez of Dean and Draper to discuss her nearly three decade career in employee benefits and what it takes to advocate for employers in an increasingly complex healthcare system. Angie shares how her journey from personal lines insurance to employee benefits shaped her passion for client service, data driven decision making, a...