PRESS RELEASE: Monique Herena of American Express Becomes Chair of American Health Policy Institute

Herena Brings Expertise, Practical Experience to Leadership Role

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Health Policy Institute (AHPI), a health care think tank for large employers, formed by the HR Policy Association, is pleased to announce that Monique Herena, Chief Colleague Experience Officer of American Express, has become the new chair of the AHPI Advisory Board.

Under Ms. Herena’s leadership, AHPI will continue to serve as the voice of large employers on many pivotal issues including employee wellbeing, health equity, and health care reform efforts. As the chair of the AHPI Advisory Board, Ms. Herena will provide guidance to the AHPI leadership team and the Advisory Board members to help develop the Institute’s policy and practice program of work.

D. Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the American Health Policy Institute said, “Under Monique’s leadership, American Express has been a leading innovator in holistic employee wellbeing and resiliency, which are top CHRO priorities as we emerge from the pandemic. We are excited to have her strategic advice, particularly now, as Congress works on developing important bipartisan mental health and substance use disorder legislation.”

The American Health Policy Institute was established to examine the impact of health policy on large employers and to explore policies that will help bolster the ability of large employers to provide quality, affordable health care to employees and their dependents. AHPI serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers, members of HR Policy Association. HR Policy Association represents the chief human resource officers of more than 400 of the largest private sector employers in the U.S. Collectively, member companies employ more than ten million U.S. employees, nearly nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide.

“The pandemic has affected all of us in many ways, both personally and professionally, and everyone’s experience has been different. As we move forward into the next phase, it will remain critically important for employers to focus on supporting holistic well-being and helping to build resiliency through change. I’m honored to chair the Institute’s Advisory Board at this pivotal moment for HR and look forward to contributing to the thought leadership and solutions-driven approach of AHPI,” said Monique Herena.

As Chief Colleague Experience Officer at American Express, Ms. Herena is responsible for all aspects of the colleague experience, including talent management, leadership development, and compensation and benefits. Ms. Herena leads all colleague experience functions globally. As part of the Executive Committee, Ms. Herena works closely with the Chief Executive Officer and other Executive Committee members to ensure American Express continues to build a culture that attracts, retains, and develops the best colleagues. She also serves as an officer of the American Express National Bank.

From 2014 to 2019, Ms. Herena was the CHRO and Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications at BNY Mellon. Prior to BNY Mellon, she served for 13 years in a number of increasingly senior HR leadership roles at PepsiCo. Ms. Herena graduated from University of Wisconsin - Parkside with a B.A. in Communications and holds two Masters of Arts degrees, one in Communications Studies from Northern Illinois University and one in Organization Psychology and Change Leadership from Columbia University.

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American Health Policy Institute is a non-partisan non-profit think tank that examines the practical implications of health policy changes through the lens of large employers. The Institute examines the challenges employers face in providing health care to their employees and recommends policy solutions to promote the provision of affordable, high-quality, employer-based health care. The Institute serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers. Their mission is to develop impactful strategies to ensure that those purchasing health care are able to not only bend the cost curve, but actually break it, by keeping health care cost inflation in line with general inflation. americanhealthpolicy.org.