Jackson strikes a balance at Wellmark

Laura Jackson is rapidly rising in her field. As senior vice president of human resources for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, she looks after the needs of the 1,700 workers who make up the biggest health insurer in the state.
She said human resources appealed to her because human resources workers are the developers of company leaders and the employee base.
“You have to know yourself,” she said. “People in HR aren’t often in the limelight. It’s an enabling factor, and companies are taking more strategic advantage of it than in the past.”
An Iowa native from Manchester, Jackson got her undergraduate degree in psychology from Iowa State University in 1990. She then joined the management training program at Dayton Hudson Corp. in Minneapolis.
A few years later, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in human resource management at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. She took classes at night and on weekends while working for an aviation company, and later a consulting and engineering firm. She completed her degree in 1993.
In 1994, her stepfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and Jackson realized she wanted to come back to Iowa to be near her family. For a year she worked for Younkers Inc. where she created a management development program that was used in 53 stores. She then worked for Professional Property Management Inc. as director of human resources until 1997, when she went to work for Principal Financial Group Inc.
In four years at Principal, Jackson was promoted several times, rising from a human resources generalist to second vice president of the department. Jackson was content at Principal, but Wellmark, in the midst of a nationwide search for a senior vice president of human resources, began recruiting her. When she was asked to have tea with Wellmark Chairman and CEO John Forsyth, she agreed. Jackson said she found Forsyth and the offer compelling and accepted the position.
Jackson said the best part of her job is making a difference. Her decisions change the company’s composition as she helps to select new workers and strike a balance between the needs of the company, its leaders and the employees.
“They’ve put their faith in me,” she said.