1189: Why Finance Should Lead with “Yes, And” | Bruno Annicq, CFO, Wellhub

That willingness to build capabilities outside a traditional finance path has shaped Annicq’s career. He studied engineering not because he intended to become an engineer, but because he believed the skills would prove useful later. After McKinsey, he deliberately sought operational experience, joining AOL during a period of significant change that included Verizon’s acquisition of the company and AOL’s involvement in the Yahoo acquisition.

Those experiences reinforced lessons about adaptability and uncertainty. They also sharpened a principle he continues to emphasize today: distinguishing the “important” from the “urgent.”

As CFO of WellHub, Annicq applies that mindset to forecasting and capital allocation. Seeking greater precision, his team reimagined its forecasting process using multiple models inspired by the Windy weather application. The effort improved forecasting accuracy from roughly 10% error to 2%, Annicq tells us. More recently, the team expanded those capabilities with AI-powered tools, enabling greater forecasting depth across markets and customer segments.

For Annicq, finance’s strategic value is clear: better information creates the confidence to invest, move faster, and help the business grow.

CFOTL: From the CFO perspective, do finance leaders tend to misunderstand the financial impact of employee wellness and well-being?

Annicq: What’s unique about us is that we’re a B2B product, but there’s also a marketplace layered on top of it. Once we sell into a company, the company presents WellHub to its employees, who then decide whether to adopt the product. Those employees can then use WellHub with one of our partners, typically a gym, studio, or wellness app.

There are three constituents in that ecosystem: the client, usually represented by HR; the subscriber, who is the employee; and the partner, where engagement happens.

For the company, what they’re buying is a platform that drives high engagement among employees who are actively investing in their well-being. We’ve conducted extensive studies showing enrollment rates that are three to five times higher than other wellness platforms or benefits. We see that engagement not only in new cohorts but also among clients we signed in 2016 and 2017. Their employee adoption continues to increase year after year.

The conversation between the CFO and CHRO is that this is not an expense; it’s an investment. We recently conducted a study called Return on Well-Being with 1,500 HR leaders globally. Sixty percent of companies already measure wellness ROI, and 95% of those companies report a positive return. Once organizations see the level of adoption and engagement, they often have an “aha” moment and ask themselves, “Why wasn’t I thinking about that before?”

The employee is the second constituent. Typically, employees pay for their own plans. This is not a fully company-funded benefit. Most of the cost is borne by the employee, which we believe creates the right incentives because people are more likely to use something they’re paying for. Plans range from approximately $12 per month to nearly $400 per month, depending on the level of access to our partner network. Employees can easily sign up, cancel, or pause their memberships, which lowers the barrier to getting started. Instead of choosing a single gym, studio, or app, they gain access to an entire network.

The third constituent is the partner. By participating in our ecosystem, partners gain access to new customers. Nine out of ten people we send to partners are new customers who have never visited before. We’re not shifting existing customers from one channel to another; we’re creating incremental demand. That means no customer acquisition cost, no retention concerns, and economics that flow almost directly to EBITDA. It’s a win-win-win relationship across every part of the ecosystem.