
Speaker, Writer, Trend-spotter, Innovator, Health and Disability Expert
Hartford, Connecticut Area

Speaker, Writer, Trend-spotter, Innovator, Health and Disability Expert
Hartford, Connecticut Area
Carol A. Harnett, M.S., GBDS
Chair, Health and Performance Innovation Institute
Co-Founder, Friends at Play
Carol Harnett is a speaker, writer and trend-spotter in the fields of health and productivity management, health and performance innovation, and value-based health. She strategizes with a confidential list of employers, insurance companies, consultants, and health and disability industry organizations on customized methods to address employee-related health.
Carol’s approach focuses on innovation within reach projects, corporate profitability, improved employee performance, and decreased costs. Carol is also a clinical physiologist with broad experience in sports medicine, physical medicine and industrial rehabilitation.
Carol spent more than 10 years in the insurance industry, holding positions as the vice president and national disability and life practice leader for The Hartford and The Prudential's Director of Resources and Rehabilitation Services. She currently chairs the Health and Performance Innovation Institute Board and sits on the Boards of Directors of the American College of Sports Medicine Foundation and Disabled Sports / USA as well as numerous industry boards and think tanks.
Carol received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Chemistry from St. Peter’s College and a Master of Science degree in Physiology and Biophysics from Rutgers University.
Presentations, Writing, Innovation Within Reach, Health and Productivity Management, Value-Based Health, Corporate Storytelling, Wellness, Sports Medicine, Industrial Medicine.
(Public Company; HIG; Financial Services industry)
September 1996 — May 2009 (12 years 9 months)
➢ Board Member: Integrated Benefits Institute, Disability Management Employers’ Coalition, Institute for Health and Productivity Management.
➢ Speaker: Created and delivered over 100 presentations every year, including keynote presentations for the Disability Management Employer Coalition Annual International and Behavioral Risk Conferences, National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference, National Business Group on Health Conference on Health, Productivity, & Human Capital, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Conference, Worldwide Employee Benefits Conference.
➢ Co-Chair: Disability Think Tank: Disability Management Employer Coalition. Workplace Warriors: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration, November 2007.
➢ Co-Chair: Disability Think Tank: Disability Management Employer Coalition. Extreme Productivity: Are Your Employees Hitting the Wall? November 2008.
➢ Co-Author / Editor: White Paper: Workplace Warriors: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration, November 2007.
➢ Co-Author / Editor: White Paper: Extreme Productivity: Are Your Employees Hitting the Wall? November 2008.
➢ Researcher: Led four-year prospective study on the potential impact of employee assistance programs (EAP) on disability claim experience. Results published and presented, July 2007.
➢ Creator: The Hartford’s analytic consulting unit. Results improved The Hartford’s book retention of premium by two points.
➢ Creator: The Hartford’s proprietary disability duration guidelines (32,000 guidelines) and triage-based short-term disability claims model.
➢ Creator: The Hartford’s external medical director service.
➢ Creator: The Hartford’s claim discussion model and claim SOAP note process.
➢ Consultant: Social Security Administration disability claims process.
➢ Consultant: Fortune 500 companies on employee benefits and health / disability strategies.
(Non-Profit; Research industry)
January 2008 — May 2009 (1 year 5 months)
(Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)
January 2004 — May 2009 (5 years 5 months)
(Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)
January 1997 — April 2009 (12 years 4 months)
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; PRU; Financial Services industry)
February 1994 — January 1996 (2 years)
(Non-Profit; 1001-5000 employees; Hospital & Health Care industry)
1992 — 1994 (2 years)
- American College of Sports Medicine, ACSM
- Health and Performance Innovation Institute, HPII
- Institute for Health and Productivity Management, IHPM
- Disability Management Employer Coalition, DMEC
- National Business Group on Health, NBGH
- Integrated Benefits Institute, IBI
- Society of Human Resource Management, SHRM
- Disabled Sports USA, DS/USA
- Certification of Disability Management Specialists Commission, CDMSC
- International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, IFEBP
- Technology Entertainment and Design, TED
- Partnership Award, Disability Management Employer Coalition
- Judy Tilbor Leadership Award, The Hartford
- President's Award, The Hartford