Phoenix, AZ, October 5, 2021 – The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (“Guardian”) and Cressey & Company LP (“Cressey & Company”), announced a strategic partnership to accelerate growth for Avēsis, a Guardian subsidiary. Founded in 1978, Avēsis is a leading administrator of vision, dental, and hearing insurance benefits for government and commercial plans, serving over 9 million members.

As a strategic partner, Cressey & Company, a private investment firm focused on building leading healthcare services and information technology businesses, will make a significant investment to support accelerated growth through product development efforts, enhanced customer experience, and expansion in both existing and new markets.

“Avēsis is now uniquely positioned to leverage Cressey’s outstanding experience and expertise in the fast-growing Medicare and Medicaid space, and its track record of forging winning industry partnerships,” said Chris Smith, executive vice president, Group Benefits at Guardian Life. “By joining forces, Cressey and Guardian Life will create an expanded platform that meets the needs of our customers and serves as a preferred supplemental benefits partner for government and commercial markets.”

“We feel privileged to collaborate closely with Guardian Life in this new partnership with Avēsis,” said Peter Ehrich, Partner at Cressey. “With Avēsis’ strong foundation, we have the opportunity to positively impact the healthcare system by focusing on innovation that is centered on empowering customers with an improved approach to delivering supplemental benefits.”

With this partnership, 30-year healthcare veteran Sean Slovenski will assume the role of CEO and will lead the execution of Avēsis renewed strategy and vision.

“It’s an honor to join Avēsis and work closely with Guardian Life and Cressey to drive sustained growth while strengthening customers’ experiences with Avesis’ unique products offerings,” said Slovenski.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.