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Watch the Britt Technology Impact Series lecture with Robert Mead and Michael Palmer of Aetna Insurance Company. In this discussion, Robert and Michael discuss big data in healthcare and how it has transformed the industry.

Robert Mead, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Product and Communications (MP&C) Aetna, Inc.
Mr. Mead leads an integrated group that includes the Marketing, Research, Advertising, Product, Member Experience, Communications, Public Affairs, Thought Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Relations functions as well as the Aetna Foundation. Mr. Mead is responsible for driving the Aetna brand and effectively integrating messaging, products and services across all of Aetna’s constituents. He is a member of Aetna’s Executive Committee, the senior governing body for the company. Mr. Mead joined Aetna from the Brunswick Group LLP, a leading international corporate and financial communications consulting firm. Prior to joining Brunswick, he was the President of Gavin Anderson & Co., an Omnicom subsidiary and global consulting firm specializing in financial, corporate and public affairs. Mr. Mead received his Bachelor’s degree and completed coursework for a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Texas.

Michael Palmer, Head of Innovation, Aetna, Inc.
Michael Palmer is Head of Innovation at Aetna, and leads the Aetna Innovation Labs focusing on clinical, platform and human engagement innovations. He has over twenty-seven years of consulting and operating leadership in innovation; IT strategy, assessment and execution; large scale transformation initiatives; organizational design; and change management. He has worked with executives from large organizations to invent, quantitatively evaluate, architect and deploy capabilities linked closely with their business strategies. Prior to joining Aetna, Mr. Palmer held a variety of leadership positions at Accenture from 1993 to 2011.  Most recently, he was the Managing Partner of Accenture’s Global Medical Technology and Wholesalers business. He spent most of his time as Client Account Lead helping two of Accenture’s large clients improve their businesses and grow profitably. Mr. Palmer was also Accenture Products People Advocate, building and delivering programs to improve the engagement of over 25,000 Accenture people who serve Products clients.

His industry experience spans healthcare including serving health plans (national payers and Blues plans), provider/hospital systems, medical technology and medical wholesaler companies. He also has experience in the financial services and retail industries.  His functional expertise includes clinical, business and IT strategy; corporate innovation; global change programs; supply chain effectiveness; human capital; talent management; and organizational strategy. Mr. Palmer has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, Summa Cum Laude.