Project Title:
Blue Shield of California / Stellarus
Strategic Communications, Change Management, and Employee Engagement Infrastructure
The Context
Blue Shield of California launched Stellarus as an independent health tech startup, transforming its internal IT division into a market-facing platform and product company. The transition impacted nearly 1,000 employees and necessitated rapid alignment around a new operational model, executive restructuring, and a cultural shift. The core opportunity was to design communication strategies that fostered clarity, executive cohesion, and employee confidence during a period of accelerated organizational change.
The Challenge
Blue Shield’s transformation of its IT division into Stellarus, an independent health-tech startup, required a swift operational and cultural overhaul within a tight timeline. As the organization appointed a new Chief Information Officer and shifted to a product- and platform-based business model, it faced the challenge of aligning nearly 1,000 employees around a new vision while building internal systems from scratch. The lack of a unified communication infrastructure and clear narrative ownership created uncertainty around daily operations, strategic priorities, and executive expectations. In its first year, Stellarus needed to launch a product-driven operating model, establish its brand identity, and implement integrated communication frameworks to boost morale, retain talent, and ensure alignment across legal, HR, IT, and executive teams—all while establishing credibility as a for-profit health tech company in a competitive market.
The Impact
The strategy and systems implemented at Stellarus were instrumental in building a cohesive internal identity during its transformation into a health tech startup. Centralized communications, consistent executive messaging, and cascading communication frameworks helped align over 900 employees under the new product and platform model.
The SharePoint hub became a critical two-way communication platform, achieving a 70% adoption rate within its first quarter and creating structured pathways for workstream visibility and leadership feedback. The DHR newsletter established a regular cadence of leadership communication, with an open rate of 63%, significantly above industry benchmarks. Meanwhile, the Contributor tagline and Golden Ticket storytelling activated cultural adoption efforts, creating language and rituals that employees could anchor to during change.
Additionally, the Tech Talk x Talent Workstream saw a 34% increase in attendance over six months, strengthening employee engagement and retention by positioning communications and learning as essential tools for leadership development and growth. These integrated strategies made the shift from platform to marketplace tangible across the organization, connecting executive strategy to daily execution and reinforcing Stellarus’s credibility as a competitive player in the health tech sector.
The Approach
To facilitate Stellarus’s transformation into an independent health tech startup, I developed a comprehensive communication strategy that emphasized structure, visibility, and voice. I established and branded a centralized SharePoint hub to optimize internal communications and highlight key workstreams, while devising a multi-channel DHR newsletter strategy to promote transparency and alignment among leadership and teams.
In collaboration with Change Management, I developed messaging frameworks to support the rollout of the Product Activation Model, guiding Stellarus’s shift to a product and platform-oriented organization. This included shaping the narrative and executive voice of the new CIO, creating the "Contributor" tagline, and designing targeted communications that translated complex product strategies into accessible, motivating language, thereby reinforcing Stellarus’s credibility as a competitive health tech innovator.
To strengthen organizational culture and retention, I co-led the Tech Talk x Talent Workstream, an internal learning and engagement platform positioning Stellarus as a hub of growth. Additionally, I advanced employer branding efforts through the MHR article and Golden Ticket activation, aligning organizational vision with employee experience to foster buy-in and build trust across all levels.
