Patricia Tourigny is Magellan’s Senior Vice President of HR Operations. Her team is focused on creating an exceptional employee and candidate experience.

Patricia Tourigny’s world couldn’t afford to shatter, not even when she was diagnosed with stage 3B colon cancer and given a 3% chance of survival. She had two small children to take care of; they became the why of her cancer battle. She channeled her purpose to conquer the how—four years of surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and seemingly impossible odds. “I never focused on the statistics or the probable outcomes, I focused on my purpose: my family,” she explained. Pat learned many lessons during this time, but two in particular have translated seamlessly to her leadership philosophy at Magellan: to know your purpose, and to lead with empathy.

Pat is our SVP of HR Operations, and her work could be very difficult—considering all the complicated processes she oversees—but she operates with ease because she knows her team’s purpose, and she sticks to it. “We’re focused on two priorities: the candidate experience and the employee experience. If what we are doing does not have a positive impact on those two things, then we don’t do it.” What could be tough work is made simple; her purpose acts as a guide. This mindfulness makes Pat’s every move one of intention, and has even put her team at Magellan on the map, becoming widely known for building a world-class employer brand in 100 days and driving our HR digital transformation strategy as noted in Forbes. In short, her purposeful approach to work is helping to shine a light on her team’s work at Magellan, and more importantly, the meaningful work we do.

Alongside her unwavering allegiance to purpose, Patricia is an empathetic leader—a trait that enables her to maintain a sense of humanity in environments too often devoid of it. In championing Magellan’s recent launch of VERN (Virtual Employee Resource Network), a software that revolutionized the way our employees get HR information, she transitioned us with empathy. “We put ourselves into our employee’s shoes and made a plan that made the change feel easy and fun, so in the end there was nothing to resist,” she explained. Pat recognized that change—especially in technology—can be intimidating, and she adjusted her sails accordingly. “Showing candidates and employees alike that we genuinely care about them and that we design our experiences with them in mind, makes us different…it’s the difference between treating people like colleagues or like family.”

Pat was dealt a hard hand. A devastating diagnosis like hers rarely reaps any sort of positive outcome—yet she found one and we’re so glad that she did.

She is one of the many purposeful leaders who help make Magellan great. We are proud to call her one of our own.