Schaumburg CEO takes health seriously in, out of office

Cathy Kenworthy, president and CEO of Schaumburg-based Interactive Health, walks the walk. Literally.

While her company provides workplace solutions for better wellness among employees, she has been resolute about her own health, even monitoring her steps.

"Recently my husband and oldest son and I went on a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland," she said. "We had an absolute ball and walked over 20,000 steps per day. I enjoy being outdoors whenever possible."

Kenworthy schedules workouts twice a week and continues to walk as much as possible. She also bikes, skis, hikes in the mountains and golfs.

When it comes to eating, she believes in moderation, rarely consuming sweets. "I simply never have fast food or sodas," she said.

Her diligence keeps her healthy. And that's what she's hoping for her employees and those at her clients companies.

Interactive Health provides a test and a personalized health risk assessment to proactively detect health risks in employees of client companies. The information is confidential, and if a problem does arise, the employee is contacted and offered a personalized course of action, she said.

Only depersonalized information is gathered and provided to employers. "It cannot be traced back to the employee," she said.

The employee has the choice to participate in a plan to help improve their health, she said.

The company's success rate with workers, and with their client companies, has allowed Interactive health to look toward expansion and possibly to seek acquisitions, she said.

Kenworthy joined the company in October 2013 as chief operating officer and was recently promoted to CEO. She also helped the company integrate with Health Solutions, a wellness provider acquired by Interactive Health in March. So whether she's in the office or elsewhere, her priority is health.

"My primary incentive is really to be healthy for me, when I'm making time for myself to be healthy, no matter how hectic my schedule is, I feel good about myself," she said. "I also want to be able to keep up with my children, and their children, for many years to come. I look up to so many of the health educators at Interactive Health, who have much to teach me and many others, on how to really prioritize our own health and well-being, each and every day in our lives. So - like many of us - my health habits are a work in progress."

Walking the walk, Part 2

David Parulo, president of Meet Chicago Northwest, formerly known as the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau in Schaumburg, is walking the walk of tourism. He went on vacation last week to tour Denmark and Germany for 10 days.

The big douse

As the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge continues to make the rounds on social media, CEO Jim Leopardo and Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo Construction employees took it a step further. Workers lined up and each dumped a bucketful of ice water on themselves, leading up to the boss, who was dressed in a suit and was doused by a Bobcat. They also donated about $1,000 to ALS.

FastTracks

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