Ed Faruolo, Neighbor

Ed Faruolo has an exceptional track record for creating and securing sustainable market opportunities for new and existing business ventures. On the corporate side, Ed served as Chief Marketing Officer for CIGNA for over 10 years where, through a sequence of strategic divestitures, he successfully repositioned the company as a tier 1 global health benefits provider. He also served in the senior most marketing and brand leadership roles at Lincoln Financial and The Travelers.

Through his own company, (vitalincs.com), Ed creates and conducts highly engaging workshops through the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), among others. The client list ranges from CPG to industrial to financial services organizations on the Fortune 500 list. His consulting practice often focuses on innovative programs for overlooked and underserved populations with clients such as NY State’s OPWDD (Office for People With Developmental Disabilities), the Public Housing Authority Directors’ Association in Washington, D.C. (PHADA), and the HAI Group (the national insurance organization for the public housing industry).

In the new ventures space, Ed provided early stage business strategy and direction for MD Insider (mdinsider.com), a highly successful big data health provider performance evaluation tool that was ultimately acquired by Accolade. Ed also mentors a number of young entrepreneurs through an accelerator group in Hartford. His current client is an ex-felon who is establishing an innovative program to help solve the “food deserts” that are common in urban neighborhoods.

Ed has served several industry organizations such as, Executive Chair of The Conference Board’s Corporate Brand Council, Corporate Leader for the Ad Council, Advisory Board Member for WomenHeart, and the Board of Overseers for The Bushnell Center For The Performing Arts. He has also lectured at Northwestern, Kellogg, Wharton, Temple, University of Miami, and Yale.

Ed’s work has been profiled in many industry leading publications and college texts including Brand Asset Management, by Scott Davis (Prophet), Communicating Globally by Don E. Schulz (Northwestern), and Value Above Cost by Don Sexton (Columbia). Ed has also been recognized through numerous awards including the Ad Council’s Robert V. Goldstein Award, the Wenger Award for Corporate Leadership in Healthcare, and the National Easter Seal Society Award. In addition he has received 4 EFFIES (marketing excellence), and 1 CLIO (creative excellence).

In the area of community service, Ed currently serves on the board of Elevate New England, an organization that builds life enhancing relationship and mentorship programs for urban youth. He is also the past president and current board member of the Milford Education Foundation - a non-profit dedicated to engaging students with life long learning and vital skills development.