Outstanding Women in Business 2018: Luisa leads more than 1,000 projects per year
Jennifer Luisa, vice president of marketing and communications at The Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester
In 1991, Jennifer Luisa was hired as a receptionist at what is now The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (formerly State Mutual Life Assurance Company). By the end of that year, she had advanced to an executive assistant, and it wasn't long after that she was named a project manager.
Luisa gained important experience, serving in a variety of positions including relationship manager, operations manager, chief of staff, and product marketing manager. Luisa went on to lead the company's rebranding efforts as it shifted to The Hanover Insurance Group and then joined the company's human resources team. Luisa then led The Hanover's charitable foundation for four years, serving as president of The Hanover Foundation, before arriving at her present role – vice president of marketing and communications.
“My career trajectory has never really been focused on obtaining a specific role. Instead, I was focused on what I could learn from each job and the key responsibilities that I could build upon to make that job my own,” said Luisa.
She has always loved marketing, particularly the creative side of storytelling, but she finds value in a deep understanding of the company's operations in order to tell The Hanover's story in the most impactful way possible.
“I've had a lot of internal mobility here. Some of the jobs I chose, and some of the jobs chose me,” she said.
Luisa admires the tremendous leaders she has worked with, and she is committed to returning the favor. Aside from her role as an official mentor, she loves providing informal support.
“I spend a lot of time with individuals who are trying to find work-life balance and understand how different career progression happens,” Luisa said. “In these rapidly changing times, I learn just as much from them.”
Under her leadership, the marketing team routinely completes more than 1,000 projects per year, an accomplishment she attributes to her talented staff.
“From our writers and designers to our public relations team and our multimedia specialists – they do a great job promoting the unique value of what we bring,” Luisa said.
Luisa is particularly enthusiastic when it comes to digital marketing which requires strong partnerships with The Hanover's technology team.
“Together, we have spent a lot of time in the last two years really trying to digitize our content and looking at new and interactive tools for agents and customers to use,” she said.
As a member of the company's digital council and its innovation steering committee, she sees value in connecting each part of the organization and empowering employees to think outside the box.
“In the 10 years I have known and worked with Jen, I have seen her intelligence, her wisdom and her compassion in all that she does. She is both an amazing leader with The Hanover Insurance Group and she is a thoughtful and oft-requested community leader,” said Tim Garvin, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Mass.
Luisa often recalls a favorite saying of her father's: “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
As such, she has served as a board of trustee member for the Doctor Franklin Perkins School since 2015, a human services organization focused on the well-being of children, youth and adults facing educational, developmental and mental health challenges. As a mother of a child on the autism spectrum, this is a cause very important to her.
She has served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, Inc., Worcester Education Development Foundation, and the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. She previously served as a vice president of her local Parent Teacher Organization.
“Her advocacy on behalf of our kids, in particular those attending our Great Brook Valley site, has helped ensure we have the resources for our kids to succeed. We are so fortunate to have her on our team,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.
Read more about the 2018 Outstanding Women in Business:
Kate Sharry, president of Group Benefits Strategies
Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, co-managing partner of AAFCPAs
Laurie Masiello, president of Masy Bioservices
Jennifer Luisa, vice president of marketing and communications at The Hanover Insurance Group
Marianne Lancaster, president of Lancaster Packaging Inc.
Sandra Brock, PE, vice president and chief engineer at Nitsch Engineering
Read about the nine previous years of Outstanding Women in Business award winners:
Check out a column from this year's Innovative Business Leader of the Year on the importance of women business leaders in the Central Mass. community
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