Passion, tenacity, and positive disruption are at the core of Samuel Lombardo’s career trajectory, where he has over three decades of experience as a distinguished visionary in the healthcare and insurance industries. 

Sam founded Benecon, the industry’s first-ever Self-Funding as a Service (SFaaS) platform, in 1991. He pioneered the model of aggregating self-funded health purchasing and, with the help of his hand-selected executive team, has streamlined the original model to evolve Benecon into an organization that provides a full suite of services and support. Through the partnerships Mr. Lombardo has built with insurance carriers and brokers nationwide, Benecon is now the premier solution for thousands of public and private sector employees to effectively control their benefit plan expenditures and design self-funded medical benefit programs according to their organizational needs. Benecon is proud to maintain a member retention rate of more than 98%.

Samuel Lombardo is also the founder of ConnectCare3, Benecon’s sister company, which serves covered employees and their dependents along their wellness journey to achieve better outcomes. Their team of patient advocates, registered nurses, certified health coaches, and registered dieticians offer clinical services to help manage employees’ and dependents’ medical diagnoses and ensure they’re properly educated and supported as they navigate the complex healthcare system. ConnectCare3’s mission emanated from a gap Samuel discovered in the medical sector after his long and challenging recovery from a brain tumor.

During Mr. Lombardo’s tenure as Chairman and CEO of Benecon, he became a four-time recipient of INC Magazine’s exclusive “500 Fastest-Growing Companies in America” award. This award recognizes business leaders who have demonstrated excellence in annual revenue and overall corporate growth.

In addition to his extensive professional background, Sam Lombardo is also an avid philanthropist alongside his wife, Dena Lombardo. As lifelong Lancaster County natives, Sam and Dena are committed to making a positive impact on the local community. Part of their philanthropic legacy extends to two Lancaster universities: Millersville and Franklin & Marshall.

Samuel and Dena Lombardo have supported Millersville University for several years, providing tremendous educational opportunities for its students. Most recently, the Lombardos donated $5 million, the university’s largest single gift to date, toward funding the transformation of the historic Brooks Hall into the Lombardo Hall, an inclusive, collaborative space that brings together entrepreneurship, innovation, and business. This will be the future home of the Lombardo College of Business, featuring majors such as Business Analytics, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship, and Information Technology, among other professional opportunities to help students succeed. They’ve also funded the Lombardo Welcome Center on Millersvile University’s campus, which will be Pennsylvania’s first certified zero energy building.

Additionally, they donated another $5 million to Franklin & Marshall College as part of the college’s Now to Next capital campaign — the largest campaign in F&M history. Samuel and Dena Lombardo’s donation will cover the renovations to build the welcome center and will serve as an endowment for the facility’s ongoing maintenance. 

The Lombardo’s have also supported a number of other Lancaster institutions, including Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic, the Clinic for Special Children, Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development, The Mix at Arbor Place, the Veterans Honor Park of Lancaster County, and the National Healthy Veterans Center. 

Sam Lombardo is a racing and driving member of the Palm Beach Driving Club at the Palm Beach International Raceway and an avid supercar collector. He is also a restaurateur carrying out his family’s legacy of owning and operating Lombardo’s, Lancaster’s beloved Italian-American restaurant, which was established in 1946.