Tony Herron is a straight shooter and tells you how it is. Tony is known for his straightforward approach, which he consistently brings to his work with the team, fostering clear communication and effective collaboration.

“We provide pragmatic, effective solutions, not a bunch of theoretical, academic pontificating.”

As one of the firm’s founders, Tony takes great pride in herronpalmer’s people, the game-changing work they do with clients, and the ripple effects of their efforts.

“We help our clients succeed. And this leads to better outcomes for their plan participants.”

One reason for herronpalmer’s success is Tony’s ultra-selective approach to talent. The qualities he admires most in a person are reliability and ability to figure things out and deliver a great solution. The herronpalmer team is rich in these aptitudes — plus a wealth of expertise. On average, the firm’s consultants have 25 years of real-world experience managing HR and benefit programs.

“They use this experience to help clients solve and/or avoid complicated challenges in an efficient and practical way.”

Ask Tony about his own career experience, and you may want to pull up a chair. He’s one of the most experienced advisors in the industry. Tony has:

• Engaged in more than 500 RFP projects across the full range of benefits, with experience on both sides of the table — as sourcing advisor and as service provider
• Co-launched one of the world’s first full-service employee benefit outsourcing providers
• Managed dozens of benchmarking, renewal negotiation, and contracting projects
• Advised private equity firms, hedge funds, and other investors interested in entering the pension and/or health and welfare administration business

You’ll find more of Tony’s career story on LinkedIn. Highlights include six years as partner with ISG, and more than a decade in senior management with organizations such as WTW and Wellspring Resources (now known as Voya). His finance degree is from Ball State University.

Tony’s first experience as an employee …

Tony’s earliest business lessons came from his first paying job: a morning paper route that cleared about $12 a week. He was in sixth grade.

“You had to pay for the newspapers, and if you didn’t sell all of them you took the loss. And if you didn’t collect from all your customers, you took a hit to your bottom line. So, I was managing accounts receivables at age 12!”

Here’s what Tony learned from this early experience:

1. “Extra effort matters.” Patrons appreciated when Tony took time to put their paper inside the screen door, rather than tossing it on the porch to blow away. They rewarded him with tips throughout the year and at Christmastime.
2. “Sometimes the revenue isn’t worth the effort.” The last house on his route was about a mile out of the way. The family only took the Sunday paper, and they were never home when he tried to collect, so Tony learned that walking to their house and back to collect the $.35 subscription fee was a waste of time. Basically, they got a free Sunday newspaper.
3. “I’m more of a night owl.” Getting up extra early to deliver the paper before school was a grind. He should have picked up an afternoon paper route!

What does Tony want to be when he grows up?

“I am what I want to be when I grow up. I love helping clients and solving their problems. I look at our reputation, our client list, our financial success, the way employees feel about working here, and I have to pinch myself all the time to see if this is real.”