We’re looking forward, not only to the next year, but to the next decade of sustainable family support. Working parents are an essential driver of business outcomes, representing 40% of people managers. But the daily strain they face balancing competing professional and family responsibilities is intensifying and increasingly leading to burnout and attrition. Now more than ever, the support Cleo brings to employees and employers alike is essential to the evolving future of work.

That’s why we’re thrilled to have Mike at the helm of our commercial operations to bring the latest in working family benefit innovations to market. With decades of leadership helping incredible companies innovate and grow from the earliest stages, his experience in digital health and benefits navigation brings Cleo’s commercial teams the insights, passion, and leadership needed to help every new client succeed in driving better outcomes for their working families.

Mike is not only an industry veteran, with deep healthcare and benefits experience but is also a committed and engaged father of three and a proud new member of the Cleo dads club. Over 50% of Cleo members are non-birth parents and we know more than ever that truly helping working families thrive takes engagement from all of us.

As Mike begins his journey with Cleo, we had a chance to sit down and get his thoughts at this pivotal moment in time.

What are your thoughts about the moment we’re in as a society? What’s changed? What will continue to be important?
Covid’s impact will forever change us. Priorities, work-life balance, travel and transportation, consumer purchasing habits, and education will never be as it was. Our workplaces will require hybrid models from this point forward and technology will continue to accelerate communication and collaboration. From a business perspective, employee retention, talent acquisition and management, corporate culture, benefits, and compensation, will all continue to evolve very quickly as a result.

How do you balance a demanding career and family life?
Having experienced both “family guilt” and “professional guilt” I find that being open and honest (and non-apologetic) about my responsibilities leads to a happier and more productive routine.

Assuming you didn’t have Cleo or anything similar when you first had kids, how do you think it would have changed your experience?
The confidence of expert advice would have been a saving grace for us as we brought three kids into the world and strive to be great parents. There is no handbook, but plenty of opinions and lots to worry about. You name it, we read it. It was exhausting, and most of the time the advice was not consistent. Do you go to your baby in the night when they are crying, or encourage them to self-soothe? Do you co-sleep or does that create dependency that will impact your kids even when they grow to be adults? How strict should we be with our teenagers? How do we teach them responsibility, character, and good decision making skills? Are we making the right decisions? There is no playbook and raising kids takes a village.

Any parenting “hacks” that help you find a good balance or set better boundaries for yourself?
I try to take a morning walk with my wife Tracy after the kids get off to school. It allows us to catch our breath together, get some fresh air, talk about the busy family and kid logistics of the day, and most importantly stay connected as partners.

Screen time is a battle we are fighting on three fronts with kids at different ages. It really is a daily fight, and as parents we need to be role models for what we think is important. This includes dad staying off his phone when we are with the kids or having dedicated family time.

What do your kids think your job is?
My kids think their dad works at a company that makes apps people use for improving their health.