WOONSOCKET, R.I. — As chief customer and experience officer of CVS Health, Michelle Peluso leads a culture of consumer-centricity across the company to make health care more convenient and more affordable, and to improve the quality of outcomes for the 100 million consumers who interact with the brand annually.

“Improving the consumer experience drives loyalty, outperforming brand and price combined,” said Peluso. “We’re laser focused on delivering experiences that reinforce our mission — and we are personalized, connected and affordable.”

Health care has not been an industry designed around the consumer, and historically orients itself around moments of crisis — a diagnosis, for example. “Our CEO, Karen Lynch, has set a bold strategy that health care has to change, and we need to put the consumer at the center of everything we do,” said Peluso. “To do that, we had to ask ourselves if we truly understand what the consumer wants, and what inspires people to engage in the health care system. We’re taking a broader lens to understand what doesn’t sit well with consumers and, on the other hand, what delights them.”

Using the Net Promoter System (NPS), CVS Health is constantly getting feedback on what’s working, what’s not working, and what must be done to improve. The scale of feedback is important to Peluso and her team, and it’s used to unify the organization around what the consumer wants while driving action on the front lines, creating differentiated experiences and empowering colleagues to drive a culture of consumer-centricity.

Michelle Peluso

“Since we implemented NPS, we receive over 17 million pieces of feedback where people take the time to tell us what they think, during moments that matter across our business,” said Peluso. “This provides us with tremendous insight and informs how we can better serve consumers in every community. We contact those who do not have a positive experience with us and work to make it right, solve their issue and incorporate these solutions into everyday processes.”

A customer-centric approach is nothing new for Peluso. At CVS Health, she previously served as the co-president of CVS Pharmacy. Before joining CVS Health in 2021, she was senior vice president of digital sales and chief marketing officer at IBM, where she was responsible for customer experience, global marketing, digital sales and the commercials business. Earlier in her career, Peluso served as Citigroup’s chief consumer marketing and internet officer. In that role, she oversaw worldwide consumer marketing as well as the company’s digital transformation.