Gerry Thiessen, who formerly was Pacific Business Development Director at Sun Life Financial, has joined start-up Rise People as Senior Vice President of Group Benefits Strategy, announced the company June 28.

"Gerry's wealth of industry expertise and passion for helping companies promote true health and wellness through innovative plan design is well-aligned with our vision of bringing affordable, integrated group benefits, payroll and HR to small- and medium-sized businesses across the country," said Rise's CEO, Faiz Abdulla.

A sea of change coming

"There's a sea of change coming to the group benefits space and I wanted to lead that change to shape the future of group benefits,” said Thiessen. “While there has been a lot of talk about disruptors in this domain, Rise is the only provider in Canada that offers a true end-to-end, fully integrated solution for HR, group benefits, group retirement services, payroll and time & attendance."

"Gerry's vast prescription drug knowledge and diverse experience in plan design, underwriting practices, and cost containment make him the ideal leader to help Rise achieve its goal of becoming the leader in the modern group benefits space," said Faiz.