Q&A with CGO Melanie Hallenbeck: 100 days with Alegeus

As Chief Growth Officer Melanie Hallenbeck wraps up her first 100 days with Alegeus, we sat down to learn more about her vision for our organization and our partners.

What drew you to Alegeus?

Melanie: When I started to interview with Alegeus, it became obvious that the mission and growth that they were looking for was similar to what I was looking to do. For me, it was a lot of big things, and especially the fact that they truly are partner focused and every day try to do what is best for the partner. [CEO] Leif [O’Leary] always says, “If they win, we win,” and that is what the sales team lives by every day. I love the team, I saw there was a huge opportunity for success here, and I’m ready to take Alegeus and our partners to the next level.

I’ve spent the majority of my career in the benefits industry. I’ve loved my experiences, but I felt like I was missing a company with foundation, scalability, and the ability to provide a white label solution for partners. One of my favorite responsibilities at a previous job was managing channel partner relationships and growing that part of the business, and I felt like joining Alegeus was a great opportunity to essentially finish what I had started.

What does it mean to be a white label provider?

Melanie: To be a white label provider gives autonomy to a partner. Whether they’re a third-party administrator, a bank or a health plan, they get to utilize our platform while maintaining their brand. The beauty of Alegeus and what makes us so unique is that our platform can be utilized in a variety of ways – you might already have your own front end, back end, mobile app, etcetera, and your identity is protected with Alegeus.

A true differentiator between Alegeus and others in the marketplace that are at scale is that we don’t compete with our partners. Many people don’t even realize they are using an Alegeus platform because it looks like it’s coming from partner.

What does it mean to be partner powered?

Melanie: It means putting the partner first. It means listening to what the partner has to say – whether it’s from an enhancement perspective or things they want to see. Understanding that when the partner wins, we win. When the partner doesn’t win, we don’t win. Period. Every day our focus is on the partner and helping them succeed. That can be through sales enablement, account management, reporting, data, and making sure they are set up for success every day.

What are your biggest areas of focus for empowering our sellers and partners in the year ahead?

Melanie: For me it’s not one thing. As I’ve been meeting with our sellers and partners and getting to know them and ask them questions, it’s more about what they need from us. When you’re in a channel-sales relationship, every partner needs something different. One partner might need sales help because they don’t have a sales team, others might need enablement tools. The beauty of Alegeus is that we have so many talented people in marketing and sales that can assist our partners in a variety of ways.

Some partners might need data and tools so they can tell better stories. We rolled out a COBRA solution that gives our partners the ability to have full CDH and COBRA with us all in a white label solution. It’s a great opportunity for us to help our partners with technology, people support, and by being a partner in any way they need us.