Clevon Cunningham

I am the Benefits and Compensation Associate at W. P. Carey, which means I work in partnership with the rest of the Human Resources team on anything related to benefits, compensation and equity.

 

Describe your role at WPC. What are you responsible for?

On the benefits side, I am responsible for the daily management of our benefits and reconciling our invoices. I also do market research on new benefits that align with our values and the needs of our employees. Some notable benefits I’ve been involved in implementing are the lifestyle spending account (LSA) – an employer-sponsored fund for employees to cover certain lifestyle expenses – as well as men’s reproductive health benefits, including sperm freezing, and creating an LGBTQ+ benefits guide.

Equity related projects I work on include assisting with the vesting and issuance of our employee and director stock awards and deferred awards, compiling data for reporting in quarterly and annual materials, as well as managing our Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

For compensation, I assist with the year-end compensation cycle, compile salary survey data for our recruiting team and help with domestic and international payroll.

 

Describe your career journey. 

I grew up in Bermuda, which is one of the largest (re)insurance hubs in the world. My exposure to that industry from a young age made me want to be an actuary, as it aligned with my analytical and problem-solving skills. I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from St. John's University and had a couple of actuarial internships at KPMG and Willis Towers Watson. After graduation, I accepted an offer as a Consulting Analyst at Mercer where I worked on projects such as assisting with pension valuations, leading client calls and managing relationships for multi-country client benefits.

While there, even though I had passed a couple of actuarial exams, I realized I did not want to be locked into taking these exams for the next several years, which led me to exploring other analytical fields. During my exploration, I interviewed at W. P. Carey and subsequently accepted the role as Equity and Compensation Analyst. Despite not having any prior compensation experience, my skillset was well-suited for the position and my team was extremely supportive in getting me up to speed on everything I needed to know. Now, my clients are the wonderful employees at W. P. Carey, and I couldn’t be happier!

 

What do you think it takes to succeed at WPC?

The biggest factor for success at WPC is effective communication. Because W. P. Carey has a relatively flat organizational structure, it really feels like there are no hierarchies here. This means that you can always open doors for yourself by communicating your interests and ideas. As long as your idea aligns with the company’s broader goals, there’s always a good chance it will be implemented, which really allows you to drive your own success.

 

What’s the best part about WPC?

One thing I love about W. P. Carey is the ability to shape your career path and take on new responsibilities. When I first joined the company, I was not involved in any of the benefit-related projects. Now, some of my favorite projects in my day-to-day involve sourcing and implementing new benefits and helping keep our competitive edge in the market for new hires. It’s extremely rewarding for me to see how our benefits have a real impact on our employees!

I also love the amount of exposure I get with all members of the company. I have the opportunity to work with everyone from new hires to the CEO and Board of Directors. The employees at W. P. Carey are really some of the best in the business, and I love getting to know everyone on a personal level. It really helps create that family atmosphere.