We’re pleased to announce our new CEO, Jeff Semenchuk! Jeff has quite the history helping companies grow and offer cool stuff. (At least three of his job titles include the word “innovation.”) We sat down with Jeff to chat Zest and beyond.
What was your very first job?
Mowing lawns. I was probably 13 years old in Colorado. My first job in the workforce was at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture. I was the first staff consultant hired into a new practice that became change management services.
What types of things do you do during a Zest workday?
It’s a range of things from engaging with our clients and consumers to learn and address their needs, developing new models and experiences with my colleagues and external partners, mapping out Zest strategy and innovation roadmaps, and enhancing our current technology platform and operations.
What’s the most exciting part of your job?
It’s working with my colleagues and external partners to express Zest’s purpose as a company, which is to equip people to make smart healthcare choices.
What’s next for Zest?
Currently Zest has a fabulous offering for employers and employees that helps them navigate their health insurance, healthcare costs, bills, and appointment scheduling. Going forward we’re going to build on this proposition to start making more offerings available through a marketplace of services and new ways to pay for these services.
We’ll also be building out our analytics capabilities through AI-driven data and insights for all players in the health ecosystem: providers, insurance companies, healthcare and hospital systems, employers, and most importantly, consumers.
Describe yourself in three words.
Forward-thinking, trustworthy, collaborative.
Name five things you can’t live without.
My family, iPhone, travel, delicious food, and honesty.
What’s something you recommend to everyone?
Tell the truth. Do work that energizes you and has meaning and purpose. Know when to dream and explore, and know when to be focused and disciplined.
Favorite quote?
It’s Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.” There’s some debate about whether he said it exactly this way, but I’m going with it!
