Our Story

The Benefit Advocates Story – Real People

Benefit Advocates, Inc., opened its doors in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C., due to the vision of its founder, Mary Kesel, a former vice president of health and welfare plans for Wachovia Corporation. In 2001, Kesel gathered a small group of passionate and dedicated health plan benefits professionals and launched in earnest what has become one of the most cost-competitive health advocacy organizations in the country. Each of Benefit Advocates' staffers has worked on the corporate side of benefits management and knows the time and energy it takes to inform employees and retirees about health benefits, answer the barrage of health plan questions that accumulate over the course of any given day, and advocate for them in the often complicated world of healthcare. In 2002, Benefit Advocates picked up its first large employer group client, Sara Lee Intimate Apparel, a subsidiary of Hanes Brands. That same year, Kesel recruited Linda Carter, a former administrative manager for Wachovia's defined contribution plans, to provide leadership and training for new advocates. Passionate about helping others understand their benefits, Carter was a perfect fit for the burgeoning company. Relying on the principle that employees and retirees prefer dealing with real people, Carter creates a customized and dedicated team of professional benefits experts to handle calls for each of Benefit Advocates' clients, who can then turn their focus to strategic policy and decision-making. In 2003, Benefit Advocates counted SunTrust, an Atlanta-based national banking company with nearly 30,000 employees, among its clients. In 2007, Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the United States, certified Benefit Advocates. With a 2006 expansion, Benefit Advocates moved to its current location at 514 South Stratford Road in Winston-Salem. In 2008, it created a package of services focused at the individual. With a combined 120 years of plan benefits experience among its management team, Benefit Advocates currently offers an array of benefit administration outsourcing solutions to small and large employers and individuals. It currently counts among its clients Schering-Plough, SCANA Corporation, and SunTrust.