Headspace Health Expands Its C-Suite With 2 New Hires

Santa Monica, California-based Headspace Health has added two new members to its C-suite.

The company announced Monday it hired Dr. Wizdom Powell as chief social impact and diversity officer and Jodi Bryant as chief commercial officer, according to a news release. Both Bryant and Powell will report to CEO Russell Glass.

The two leaders join Headspace Health which was created six months ago following a merger between Ginger.io Inc. and Headspace Inc. At that time, the merged company was valued at $3 billion.

Bryant joined the company in April. Her work will focus on ensuring that Headspace Health’s 3,500 B2B customers get the most from Headspace for work, the company’s well-being and mindful living platform, and its virtual mental health care system, Ginger. Some of these enterprises include Starbucks, Adobe, Delta Air Lines, and Paramount.

She will work closely with Katie DiPerna, Headspace Health’s senior vice president of partnerships, to drive momentum with health plans and strategic partners including Cigna, Blue Shield of California, and Accolade.

“I’m thrilled to join Headspace Health to help organizations around the world address the growing mental health needs of their employees, and to ultimately make the workplace a source of strength and support,” Powell said.

Headspace Health’s cumulative reach touches over 100 million people in 190 countries through mindfulness tools for managing stress, sleep, and focus, the release states.

Powell, who will join the company in July, has worked for Headspace Health as a creative diversity director on a consultant basis since November 2020. She will continue to work as a part-time faculty member of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine to complete grant-funded work. She is presently the director of UConn’s Health Disparities Institute and a tenured associate psychiatry professor.

Powell will lead Headspace Health’s efforts to further incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, compassionate leadership, and mental health and wellness training into the company’s culture.

She will also oversee the company’s social impact work. Powell will oversee strategic partnerships with nonprofits, government leaders and advocacy groups. She will also focus on the company’s Headspace for Teens and Headspace for Educators initiatives.

“I am honored to collaborate with this team to bridge the gap between our fragmented mental healthcare system and the millions of people around the world who are suffering in silence,” Powell said in the release.

Where they were before Headspace Health

Powell also serves as chair of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) workgroup on health disparities in boys and men as the co-chair of the health committee for the My Brother’s Keeper Network in Durham County, North Carolina. Now-former President Barack Obama launched the nonprofit My Brother’s Keeper in 2014.

She holds a Ph.d. and master’s degree in clinical psychology and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She holds several other recognitions and accomplishments including the APA’s “Distinguished Professional award and fellowships with the White House, the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“In my work as a psychologist, in academic settings and in public policy, I’ve yet to come across an organization more uniquely poised than Headspace Health to truly democratize mental health and wellbeing support on a global scale,” Powell said.

Bryant joined Headspace Health from the national insurer Aetna, part of CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS), where she worked as president of the company’s professional employer organization business. Prior to that role, she was senior vice president of sales, enablement and consultant relations.

In that role, she led the integration of bswift, a full-service benefits administration partner, into the Aetna family of products. Her career has spanned from sales to client relationship management and development, serving customers ranging from midsize companies to Fortune 100 companies, the release states.

“It’s never been more evident to me that mental health and wellness must be prioritized in the benefits strategy and go-forward plan of every employer, regardless of size or industry,” Ms. Bryant said in the release.