1. September 12, 2013
To Whom It May Concern:
I have had the pleasure of working with Mark Stepko at Aetna/Coventry Health Care for more than a
year, as we have worked together to increase employee engagement through an array of IT strategies
and resources. He has been a valuable partner, and I have greatly relied on his leadership and expertise
on a variety of new projects and programs.
When I joined Coventry in June 2012 as Vice President of Corporate Communications, one of my first
priorities was to re-examine how information was delivered to our 14,000 employees across the nation.
I needed to partner with IT quickly to determine what technology resources were available, how they
were being used, how effective they were, and what additional capabilities we could leverage to take
our communications to the next level. Mark was assigned as my liaison to the IT team, to help me
achieve my goals for the organization.
Mark played an important role in improving the engagement of our employees, as well as their
understanding of our business goals. I greatly appreciated his dedication to understanding my objectives
and strategies, his ability to identify risks, and his commitment to finding new ways to overcome any
obstacles. He communicated with me and other stakeholders continually, to ensure that we were all in
alignment and clearly understood timelines and deliverables.
Mark’s ability to bring together the right people in the right forum was a key factor in our ability to
implement swiftly, cost effectively, and with the greatest impact. He has always ensured that his teams
deliver on time, within scope, and on a limited budget, and that their work exceeded expectations.
Aetna’s acquisition of Coventry was one of the largest acquisitions in the history of our industry, and
communications has been a critical success factor during this time of considerable transition. Mark has
been there every step of the way, a valued colleague and trusted IT advisor as we worked together to
satisfy the needs of our business teams.
Best regards,
Kristine Grow
Executive Director, Government Services Communications
Aetna