St. Louis Business Leaders features Karen Grasso's "Keeping Workers Healthy and Companies Strong". Karen Grasso, Business Unit President for Benefits and Insurance Services, CBIZ

1. ST. LOUIS BUSINESS LEADERS
For the past two decades, St. Louis native Karen Grasso
has devoted her life to streamlining the management of
employee benefits. As business unit president for benefits
and insurance services at the St. Louis office of CBIZ, Inc.,
Grasso has a clear passion for supporting and empowering the
people and businesses that move this country forward, even
during challenging times.
“CBIZ is one of the nation’s leading providers of
professional advisory services,” says Grasso. “We offer tax,
retirement plan, payroll, and accounting services; employee
benefits consulting; property and casualty insurance; human
capital consulting; risk advisory; and more—all delivered
through a unique combination of locally based, trusted
advisors and backed by a national team of specialized experts.
We are all about building relationships with employers who
want the best for their employees. CBIZ builds partnerships,
not client lists.”
CBIZ clients span the midsize workplace spectrum,
from school systems, manufacturing, and public entities
to nonprofits and even coal mines. Grasso’s clients rely on
her for crafting powerful benefits packages and overseeing
and renegotiating the complex annual renewal of health and
welfare benefits. She has built a successful practice and has
consistently demonstrated her ability to evolve, adapt, and
align to the ever-changing landscape of employee benefits.
Moving Mountains
“This industry can be a slippery slope,” says Grasso.
“Sometimes, a company discovers they are not being
provided the insurance services they are paying for, and as
a result, they are having a tough time managing the cost of
health care simply because they have not been provided the
strategic planning necessary to do so.” In these cases, often
with renewal deadlines—and massive premium increases—
looming, Grasso and her team jump in with both feet. They
conduct a careful review of the business and its employees.
Then they get busy, mining their powerful, enduring
relationships with insurance companies nationwide to broker
a perfect solution.
Clients also benefit from CBIZ’s extraordinary array
of resources, such as their national pharmacy and health
innovations practices. “We understand that most employers
want the best for their employees. Our resources and
relationships allow us to provide a holistic approach to
managing our clients’ benefits programs,” says Grasso. “We
provide solutions that other brokers simply cannot.
721 Emerson Road, Suite 400
St. Louis, MO 63141
314-692-2249 | cbiz.com
“Working together, CBIZ allows us to offer clients a wide
variety of business services and solutions,” she continues.
Alongside her passion for her work is Grasso’s determination
to help women advance into leadership roles. She serves on
the executive board of CBIZ’s Women’s Advantage. “I’m
also thrilled to be part of
the Women in Insurance
peer group sponsored by
Sun Life Financial, which
brings together top women
to brainstorm new business
opportunities and discover
current headwinds in the
industry,” says Grasso. “The
empowerment of women is a
top initiative for both Sun Life
Financial and CBIZ.”
FOR CBIZ’S KAREN GRASSO, IT’S A CALLING.
Keeping Workers
Healthy and
Companies Strong
“Employers offer benefits for two
reasons: First, it’s the right thing to do.
Second, a competitive, state-of-the-art
benefits package helps recruit and
retain great people.”
— Karen Grasso, Business Unit President
for Benefits and Insurance Services, CBIZ
As Seen In
Fortune & Entrepreneur