Fortunately, Caruso, a Woodruff Fellow at Goizueta, is no stranger to innovation. As health and welfare benefits manager at SunTrust Bank in the early 1990s, Caruso worked to put managed care in place, making SunTrust one of the first large employers in Atlanta to move its health and welfare benefits plan to a total managed-care strategy. While at SunTrust, Caruso, forty-three, also led an extensive evaluation of benefits administration, made the decision to outsource the management of employee benefits, and then managed that outsourcing relationship. To enhance her ability to see innovative ways to deliver benefits, Caruso has worked on both the internal and external sides of the equation. Caruso recognizes that human resources is not a field a lot of MBAs consider, although she thinks they should.
Human resources is a field that needs a lot of strong business managers.
It's not just for people who like people. It's for people who can understand what the business needs are, what the culture is, and how to manage your field to be in line with the corporation's values and goals-to be a strategic partner. With a business background, you are ahead of others who enter the field, and you are in a position to have a powerful impact on people's lives. Produced by the Office of Public Affairs of Emory University.