Be a beacon: A Q&A with Tom DiLiegro

Tom DiLiegro is a consultant and the owner of Benefits Advisors of Charleston, which focuses on conquering unique challenges for small businesses with creative compensation strategies.

Paul Wilson: How did you get your start in the benefits industry?

I went to business school, but I always had an eye on health care. After college, I decided to merge my interests in health care science with my newfound business knowledge. At that time, in Massachusetts (where I’m from), they were doing their 2006 state reform and I was reading the Wall Street Journal and said, “There it is. That’s exactly what I want to do.”

After a couple of years working at a TPA, my first job in the business, I had to learn through trial and error that health care and benefits isn’t just about the money. And then the practical knowledge I learned from being on the ground and learning from employers combined with working with Kevin Trokey and Wendy Keneipp at Q4. They introduced me to people like Simon Senek and Patrick Lencioni, Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” and “How the Mighty Fall.” I learned it’s about the people. You have to have the financial part, but we’re dealing with people. That should be the focus in any part of society, not just in business.