Susan Stith

Susan Stith is responsible for shaping and steering Cigna’s enterprise-wide diversity, equity, inclusion, philanthropic, and community outreach programs. In her role, Susan leads Cigna’s efforts to create diversity and inclusion programs to recruit, retain and develop talent. In addition, she manages the company’s national partnerships with nonprofits, and directs Cigna’s civic affairs function including community programming, funding, and employee volunteerism.

Susan also oversees the Cigna Connects Corporate Responsibility platform, and is executive director of the Cigna Foundation. This includes leading the company’s Healthier Kids For Our Future® initiative, Cigna’s five-year, $25 million global commitment to improve the health and well-being of children everywhere. In the face of unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, systemic racism and widespread social unrest in 2020, Susan helped bring to life two important programs demonstrating Cigna’s continued commitment to health equity and equality. This includes Building Equity & Equality – a five-year initiative to expand, accelerate and measure Cigna’s support for diversity, inclusion, equality and equity for communities of color – and the Brave of Heart Fund, in partnership with New York Life and the New York Life Foundation, honoring families of frontline healthcare workers who lose their lives from COVID-19.

Susan has a long-standing career in diversity, cultural competence, and inclusion that spans several industries including pharmacy benefit manager, and the energy sector. Prior to joining Cigna, Susan worked at Express Scripts, where she led the diversity, inclusion, and civic affairs teams. In this role she created the Experience Diversity Summit, an annual event that continues to expand, and features nationally-renowned storytellers to help people see, hear and feel diversity in powerful, new ways. Susan has been honored by numerous national publications and organization such as Diversity Woman Magazine’s Elite 100, Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Corporate Diversity, Diversity Plus magazine’s Top 25 Women Impacting Diversity, Diversity Woman’s Top 50 Diversity Champions, and Savoy.

Susan is passionate about a number of causes including children, health care and disability awareness. She serves on several boards in the non-profit sector such as the Greater St. Louis United Way Executive Committee, HOME WORKS!, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and National Council advisory member for Washington University in St. Louis’ Brown School and Institute for Public Health. Susan earned a bachelor’s degree at University of Missouri-Columbia, and a master’s degree from University of Phoenix.