Chief Strategy Officer at Versant Health in NY

SEE how you can make a difference! Be part of an innovative company that cares about its associates and helps members enjoy the wonders of sight through healthy eyes and vision.
About Versant Health

Versant Health is a leading managed vision care company dedicated to making healthy vision a reality for everyone. Through our Davis Vision® and Superior Vision® networks, our purpose is to make healthy vision a reality for everyone by improving access to care and education in the communities we serve. Fueled by our mission to improve members' lives with easy-to-use vision benefits rooted in choice, value, and care, we believe that everyone has the power to become anything they set their sights on.

Position Overview

Versant Health is a visionary and results-oriented Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to join our Executive Leadership Team. Reporting directly to the CEO, the CSO will lead the development and execution of the organization's long-term strategic vision, growth agenda, and enterprise transformation initiatives.

This executive leader will serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors, providing insight into market trends, growth opportunities, competitive dynamics, strategic investments, partnerships, and emerging healthcare innovations. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking, business acumen, analytical rigor, and the ability to translate ideas into measurable business results.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy
• Lead the development, execution, and ongoing refinement of the organization's three-to-five-year enterprise strategy in partnership with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive fact base encompassing market dynamics, competitive trends, customer needs, regulatory developments, healthcare delivery transformation, emerging technologies, and industry economics.
• Evaluate strategic opportunities and risks, develop actionable recommendations, and present decision-ready alternatives to executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
• Direct the annual enterprise strategic planning process and ensure strategic priorities remain responsive to changing market conditions and business needs.
• Partner with Finance to align strategic priorities with financial plans, capital allocation decisions, and long-term investment strategies.
Growth and Portfolio Strategy
• Develop and drive enterprise growth strategies across customer segments, products, service lines, markets, geographies, and adjacent business opportunities.
• Collaborate with business leaders to identify, assess, and prioritize organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
• Evaluate emerging opportunities within commercial and government-sponsored healthcare markets, specialty benefits, healthcare services, digital health, value-based care, care navigation, and alternative funding models.
• Establish and oversee a disciplined strategic framework for determining when to build, buy, partner, invest, or divest.
• Maintain an enterprise portfolio perspective to ensure effective allocation of capital, resources, and organizational focus.
Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships
• Develop and manage a pipeline of potential acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships that support long-term business objectives.
• Lead strategic assessments, business case development, due diligence support, and transaction evaluations in partnership with Finance, Legal, and operational leaders.
• Identify external capabilities, technologies, and partnerships that accelerate growth, expand market access, or strengthen competitive differentiation.
• Support integration planning, synergy realization, and value capture initiatives for acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Market Intelligence and Competitive Insights
• Build and lead an enterprise-wide market intelligence capability focused on competitors, customers, healthcare trends, regulatory developments, providers, technology disruption, and evolving business models.
• Conduct market analyses and scenario planning to anticipate industry shifts and emerging opportunities.
• Deliver actionable insights that inform strategic planning, investment decisions, and risk mitigation efforts.
• Provide the CEO and Executive Leadership Team with forward-looking assessments of market opportunities, competitive threats, and strategic implications.
Strategic Execution and Enterprise Performance
• Translate enterprise strategy into a focused portfolio of strategic priorities with defined outcomes, milestones, executive accountability, and financial targets.
• Establish governance processes and strategy review mechanisms to monitor progress and ensure enterprise alignment.
• Evaluate the performance of strategic initiatives and recommend course corrections, acceleration, investment adjustments, or discontinuation as appropriate.
• Lead complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives sponsored by the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
• Promote enterprise-wide collaboration while preserving business and functional leaders' accountability for execution and results.
Executive Leadership and Board Partnership
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor and thought partner to the CEO on the organization's most critical business decisions.
• Provide objective, fact-based analysis and constructively challenge assumptions to improve decision-making quality.
• Simplify complex issues into clear strategic choices, trade-offs, and actionable recommendations.
• Partner with the CEO to develop strategic content for Board meetings, executive presentations, and governance discussions.
• Present strategic analyses, market insights, growth opportunities, and investment recommendations to the Board of Directors.
• Foster alignment and collaboration across the Executive Leadership Team on enterprise-wide priorities and transformational initiatives.
Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness
• Build and lead a high-performing strategy function focused on innovation, analytical rigor, and business impact.
• Develop strategic planning capabilities across the organization and promote a culture of enterprise thinking and informed decision-making.
• Influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization to drive alignment, accountability, and successful execution of strategic priorities.
• Champion a data-driven approach to strategic decision-making and organizational transformation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Economics, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in corporate strategy, management consulting, healthcare, insurance, corporate development, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise strategy, growth initiatives, and organizational transformation.
• Strong understanding of healthcare, health insurance, specialty benefits, or healthcare services.
• Experience evaluating strategic investments, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.
• Exceptional analytical, financial, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Proven ability to influence senior executives, Boards of Directors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
Our associates remain engaged through a comprehensive compensation and benefits package which includes health and dental insurance, tuition reimbursements, 401(k) with company match, pet insurance and FREE vision insurance for you and your family.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religious beliefs, age, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), national origin, ancestry, status as a protected veteran or disabled veteran, physical or mental disability or history of disability, genetic information, marital status, or any and all other categories protected by under applicable Federal, state or local law.

This policy extends to all associates and to all aspects of the employment relationship. Any associate who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination

SEE how you can make a difference! Be part of an innovative company that cares about its associates and helps members enjoy the wonders of sight through healthy eyes and vision.

Versant Health provides vision care to 38 million members nationwide! To ensure your continued success we provide opportunities for advancement and development. Our associates remain engaged through a comprehensive compensation and benefits package which includes health and dental insurance, tuition reimbursements, 401(k) with company match, pet insurance and FREE vision insurance for you and your family

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religious beliefs, age, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), national origin, ancestry, status as a protected veteran or disabled veteran, physical or mental disability or history of disability, genetic information, marital status, or any and all other categories protected by under applicable Federal, state or local law.

This policy extends to all associates and to all aspects of the employment relationship. Any associate who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination