Payer executive moves reported by Becker's in 2023:
Editor's Note: This webpage was updated Dec. 28 and will no longer be updated in the future.
December
- AHIP named Mike Tuffin, senior vice president of external affairs at UnitedHealth Group, as its next CEO.
- BCBS Montana named Lisa Kelley as the company’s new president, effective Jan. 1.
- Point32Health named Susan Kee chief legal officer, Katie Catlender as chief operations officer, and Urcel Fields as president of government markets.
- Quartz named Christine Senty president and CEO.
- BCBS Arizona tapped Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone for a vice president role overseeing the payer's community programs and charitable giving.
- Cigna Healthcare named Pete Chuchro as general manager for its group employer business in Arizona.
- Providence Health Plan named Louis Flocco as its new chief of underwriting, Regena Frieden was promoted to chief administrative officer, Brad Garrigues was named chief growth officer, and Timshel Tarbet was appointed as chief healthcare experience and equity officer.
- Cambia named Lindsay Harris as chief commercial officer, Aadam Hussain as president and CEO of Healthcare Management Administrators, and promoted its CIO Laurent Rotival to executive vice president.
- Clover Health named Terrence Ronan as interim CFO, effective Jan. 27.
November
- CVS Health named Mark Santos as president of Aetna Medicaid.
- Centene named former Humana SVP Susan Smith as chief operating officer and Adam Proctor as CEO of its Nebraska subsidiary.
- UnitedHealth Group named Charlie Baker, president of the NCAA and former governor of Massachusetts, to its board of directors.
- Cigna Healthcare named Manish Naik vice president of the company's dental and vision businesses.
- The BCBS Association's board of directors elected CareFirst BCBS President and CEO Brian Pieninck as chair.
- AHIP's board of directors will be chaired by Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of Florida Blue, beginning in 2024.
- Medica named Lisa Erickson as its next president and CEO.
- Elevance Health has named Melissa Sherry, PhD, staff vice president of social impact and equity.
- Highmark Blue Shield named Ken Lawrence as senior vice president of corporate affairs for southeastern Pennsylvania.
- Independence Blue Cross has named Theresa Lauer as vice president of sales and marketing for Medicare.
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Providence Health Plan added three executives to its finance team: Ronda Bell as vice president of informatics, Kristin Mullany as head of growth strategies, and Ashley Wise as associate vice president of finance.
- Quartz named Jami Berger, BSN, RN, as SVP and chief clinical officer.
October
- Humana tapped Envision Healthcare president and CEO Jim Rechtin to be its next CEO. He will join Humana as COO in January and transition to the CEO role later in 2024.
- UnitedHealthcare promoted Marcus Robinson to CEO of its individual and family plans business, and Colleen Van Ham to CEO of its dental and vision divisions.
- Empire BCBS named Victor DeStefano as president.
- Molina Healthcare named William Phipps as plan president in Virginia.
- Kaiser Permanente named Israel Rocha president of its Mid-Atlantic states region, John Bry as CFO of its Washington market and Eric Henry as SVP and area manager for the San Jose (Calif.) region.
- CareFirst BCBS named Roberto Suárez as VP and chief information security officer.
- BCBS Tennessee named Jason Habich as vice president and general manager of Medicare.
- BCBS Massachusetts named Ruby Kam as its new CFO.
- Blue Shield of California named Jennifer Nuovo, MD, as chief medical officer for its Medicaid plan.
- Molina Healthcare tapped Dave Reynolds, EVP of regional health plans, and Debra Bacon, EVP of Medicare and marketplace, to run the company's Medicaid business.
- Cambia Health Solutions named William Krenz as SVP of government programs.
- Centene named Wade Rakes as chief growth officer and promoted Wendy Welch, MD, to chief medical officer for its behavioral health business.
- Excellus BCBS named Simone Edwards, DrPH, as vice president of health equity and community investments.
- BCBS Association named Razia Hashmi, MD, as vice president of clinical affairs.
- HealthPartners named Ginger Kakacek, MD, as chief medical officer for its health plan.
- MetroPlusHealth named Laura Santella-Saccone as chief marketing and brand officer.
September
- UnitedHealth Group named Roger Connor as CEO of Optum Insight, along with EVP of enterprise operations and services.
- Kaiser Permanente named Brandon Cuevas as executive vice president for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.
- BCBS Michigan's president and CEO, Daniel Loepp, is retiring at the end of 2024.
- Sendero Health Plans named Sharon Alvis as CEO.
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan named Deb Jorge as vice president of marketing.
- GuideWell named Jeff Goddard as CFO.
- Amerigroup New Jersey, an Elevance Health subsidiary, named Patrick Fox, MD, as president.
- AmeriHealth Caritas named Melody Bonomo as Florida market president.
- BCBS Tennessee named Rachelle Roy as managing director of digital transformation.
- Oscar named Kerry Sain as executive vice president of +Oscar and Steven Kelmar as executive vice president and chief of staff to the CEO.
- BCBS North Carolina named Angela Boykin as CEO of Healthy Blue, the company's Medicaid plan.
- AHIP named its general counsel, Julie Simon Miller, to serve as interim CEO.
- Blue Cross of Idaho named Melissa Kizilos, MD, as chief medical officer and Leslie Carter as chief operations officer.
- Premera Blue Cross named Umar Farooq as chief strategy officer.
- Gold Kidney Health Plan tapped Leigh Cantrell and Carrie Knowles-Atkinson to serve as chief growth officer and senior vice president and executive director, respectively.
- Alignment Healthcare named Hyong (Ken) Kim, MD, as its chief medical officer.
- MetroPlusHealth named Mary DiGangi as chief people officer.
August
- UnitedHealth Group named Heather Cianfrocco president of Optum and Patrick Conway, MD, as CEO of Optum Rx. It also named Tammi Morton vice president and chief security officer. UnitedHealthcare named Toyosi Okurounmu, MD, as national CMO and VP of medical leadership & clinical performance for its community and state division.
- Elevance Health executive vice president and CFO John Gallina is retiring from his role and will be replaced by Moody's Corp. CFO Mark Kaye.
- Regence BCBS Oregon named Michael Cole as market president.
- Humana named Bethanie Stein, PharmD, as president of its pharmacy segment.
- Cigna Healthcare named Tim Closson as general manager for Southern California and Kristen Maslowski as general manager in the Midwest.
- Kaiser Permanente named Jacqueline Carberry Baratian senior vice president and chief compliance and privacy officer.
- UPMC Health Plan named Georgia Dodds Foley as senior vice president and chief risk, compliance, and ethics officer.
- Highmark Health Plans named Ja'Ron Bridges senior vice president and CFO.
- BCBS Massachusetts named Paul Long as chief consumer experience officer.
- Oscar Health chief transformation officer Scott Blackley will return to the CFO role.
- Elevance Health named Teresa Hursey president of Amerigroup Iowa.
- Capital Health Plan named Sabin Bass as CEO, replacing John Hogan, who retired from the position after 44 years.
- Commonwealth Care Alliance named Amy Helwig, MD, as chief quality officer.
- Regence BCBS of Oregon named Tracy Muday, MD, as executive medical director.
- CareFirst BCBS named Anthony Jones as vice president of external affairs.
- Inland Empire Health Plan named Supriya Sood as chief people officer.
July
- Elevance Health promoted its chief health equity officer, Darrell Gray, II, MD, to president of Wellpoint Maryland.
- BCBS Nebraska promoted Ron Rowe to executive vice president and chief revenue officer and Gretchen Twohig to executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary.
- Centene subsidiary Meridian of Illinois has named Cristal Gary as plan president and CEO.
- Select Health, the insurance arm of Intermountain Health, named Sean Dunroe as market president of the company's Canyons Region, which includes Utah and Idaho.
- Priority Health named Rick Abbott as senior vice president of employer solutions.
- UnitedHealth Group named Wyatt Decker, MD, as chief physician and Amar Desai, MD, as CEO of Optum Health.
- AHIP tapped LaShawn McIver, MD, as chief health equity officer.
- Community Health Plan of Washington named Demetria Malloy, MD, as chief health officer and chief medical officer.
- Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which oversees the state's Medicaid program, saw its CEO Kevin Corbett step down July 31.
- Molina Healthcare named Aaron Dunkel as plan president in Kansas.
- Medica President and CEO, John Naylor, is stepping down after leading the company for six years.
- Providence Health Plan named Jack Hallmark as vice president of plan operations
- BCBS Rhode Island named Farah Shafi, MD, as chief medical officer.
- WPS Health Insurance named Nicole Oishi as vice president of execution and service delivery
- AmeriHealth Caritas CEO Paul Tufano announced he will step down in September.
- BCBS Association named Brian Bauer as its new vice president of application solutions and Josh Wilson as executive director of external communications.
- UnitedHealth Group's former CEO Dave Wichmann joined Vytalize Health's board of directors.
- Alignment Health named Melinda Kimbro as chief people officer and Christopher Joyce as chief legal and administrative officer.
- Prime Therapeutics promoted Mostafa Kamal as its next CEO.
June
- Cigna Group tapped Chris DeRosa, president of U.S. government business, as enterprise lead for the company's Medicare and individual and family business lines.
- UnitedHealthcare's chief growth officer, Philip Kaufman, was named CEO of Sevita, a home and community-based healthcare company.
- Elevance Health named Kofi Essel, MD, as its new food as medicine program director.
- BCBS Minnesota named Miaja Cassidy as its chief legal officer.
- UCare tapped former Kansas Medicaid Director Jon Hamdorf, PhD, as Kansas market president.
- Centene's president of healthcare enterprises and provider strategy initiatives, Rajiv Patel, MD, was named CEO of Bluestone Physician Services.
- Cambia Health Solutions named Mike Rains, former CFO of Elevance Health's government business division, as CFO.
- CareFirst BCBS named Brian Wheeler senior vice president of health services.
- HealthPartners named Jennifer Danielson as executive vice president and chief health plan officer.
- Security Health Plan named Eileen Murphy as director of pharmacy.
- Independence Blue Cross promoted Obadiah Sang to vice president of corporate development and strategic investments, Daniel Brown to vice president of provider reimbursement analysis and administration, and Michael Hébert to vice president of provider contracting.
- Providence Health Plan named Lina Saadzoi as CFO and Timshel Tarbet as the company's first chief equity officer.
- Alignment Health promoted Jason Han to VP of Medicare growth, and named Todd Macaluso as chief growth officer, David Milligan as SVP of sales for the California market, and Joe Kanatzar as SVP of sales for all markets.
- WPS Health Solutions named Rochelle Myers as chief growth officer.
- Elevance Health named Empire BCBS president and CEO, Alan Murray, as its new chief business development officer for provider services. Victor DeStefano, Empire's general manager of commercial business, was appointed to serve as interim president.
- Florida Blue named three market leaders: Alvaro Molina for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, Jacinda Jackson for Broward County, and Juan Awad for Palm Beach, Martin, St Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River Counties.
- Humana's former VP of Medicare trend and innovation, Brian Doheny, was named COO at behavioral services company Lucet.
- BCBS Massachusetts has named David Corkum as its new chief commercial officer.
- Blue Shield of California named Jigar Shah as its new chief marketing officer, and promoted three employees to EVP: CFO Mike Stuart, CIO Lisa Davis, and General Counsel Hope Scott.
- ConnectiCare, a subsidiary of EmblemHealth, named Mark Meador as its next president.
- Aetna's former CMO, Kyu Rhee, MD, joined the medical advisory board at Found, a virtual weight-loss program.
- Cigna's former general manager of strategy and operations for government business, Casey McKeon, was named COO at in-home care company Monogram Health.
- Amerigroup Tennessee, a subsidiary of Elevance Health, named Natalie Cooper as president.
May
- BCBS Association named Sondra Imperati as vice president of brand strategy.
- Alignment Health promoted its SVP of financial planning, Vina Fuentebella, to market CFO.
- AHIP President and CEO Matt Eyles plans to resign from the trade association, effective Oct. 2.
- BCBS Nebraska named Jeff Russell as president and CEO, effective June 26.
- Centene named Shannon Susko as senior vice president and chief communications officer.
- Centene's Chief Operating Officer, James Murray, is retiring in 2024.
- SelectHealth, the nonprofit insurance arm of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, named Troy Norgren as director of sales for individual and Medicare in its new Colorado market.
- CVS Health's executive vice president, chief policy and external affairs officer, and general counsel, Tom Moriarty, was named EVP and general counsel at Albertsons.
- SCAN Group named Renée Delphin-Rodriguez as chief legal officer and general counsel.
- Molina Healthcare promoted Jim Woys and CFO Mark Keim to senior executive vice president positions. Mr. Woys will additionally assume the role of COO.
- BCBS Tennessee named Heidi Yernberg as managing director and chief privacy officer, and Michelle Sermon-Davis as managing director and chief learning officer.
- Blue Cross of Idaho named Paul Zurlo as the company's next president and CEO, effective in 2024.
- Highmark named Lori Herzog as president of its third-party administrator segment.
- Cigna named Brent Hunter general manager for its group employer business in mid-America.
- HealthPartners named Megan Schmidt as senior vice president of health solutions.
- UnitedHealth Group's former VP of strategy and business development, George Hamilton, was named chief corporate strategy and development officer at Athenahealth.
- Aetna's former executive director of government programs, Bryan Baier, was named president of Healthy Blue Kansas — a collaboration between BCBS Kansas and BCBS Kansas City.
- Regence BCBS Utah named Anthony Dowidowicz, MD, as executive medical director.
- UCare named Marie Zimmerman as executive vice president of public affairs and chief strategy officer, and Jay Sivasailam as executive vice president and chief growth officer.
- Bright Health Group promoted Jay Matushak to CFO.
- Blue Shield of California named Krishna Ramachandran as senior vice president of health transformation and provider adoption.
April
- CVS Health named Brian Kane as executive vice president and president of Aetna, effective Sept. 1.
- Kaiser Permanente named Nari Gopala chief digital officer for the health plan and hospitals.
- Covered California, the state's ACA exchange, named Monica Soni, MD, as its new chief medical officer.
- Centene named Anika Gardenhire, BSN, RN, as its chief customer experience officer.
- L.A. Care Health Plan promoted Afzal Shah to CFO.
- BCBS Tennessee promoted Casey Dungan to president and CEO of the company's Medicaid division, BlueCare.
- Anthem BCBS Virginia tapped Monica Schmude as president after 13 years at Cigna.
- BCBS Tennessee promoted four individuals to vice president roles: Susan Buchanan as VP of provider networks and contracting, Emily Dockery as VP of brand management and communications, Rob Martin as VP of underwriting and commercial financial management, and John Cole as corporate VP for Medicaid and D-SNP operations.
- Regence BCBS Oregon named Tracy Olsen as director of sales.
- AmeriHealth Caritas named Kathleen Giblin, BSN, as senior vice president for clinical operations.
- Cigna named Jamie Jones as general manager of its group employer business in New York and New Jersey.
- UnitedHealth Group tapped Amar Desai, MD, to advise CEO Andrew Witty. Dr. Desai returned to UHG after serving briefly as president of healthcare delivery at CVS Health.
- Centene's board of directors named Fred Eppinger as chairman.
- Humana's former president of group and military, Sue Schick, was named president and chief revenue officer at healthcare finance company Zelis.
March
- SelectHealth, the nonprofit insurance arm of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, named Curt Howell as president of its Colorado market.
- BCBS Vermont promoted Kim Peake to director of financial integrity.
- BCBS New Mexico named Nancy Smith-Leslie as vice president of Medicaid.
- Independence Blue Cross promoted Amy Gallo to vice president of local markets.
- Centene named Tanya McNally as senior vice president and chief people officer.
- Blue Cross of Idaho named three regional site directors: Paul Amador in Coeur d'Alene, Camile Barigar in Twin Falls and Amy Taylor in Idaho Falls.
- BCBS Tennessee named Marc Barclay as senior vice president of provider network management.
- Oscar Health named former Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini as the company's next chief executive.
- Humana's President and CEO Bruce Broussard is stepping down as chair of the company's foundation and will be replaced by the company's longest serving board member, David Jones Jr.
- Alignment Health named Tim Moorhead as regional president of North Carolina, Arizona and Texas, and Lisa Ferrari as regional president of Nevada and Northern California.
- Regence named Brent Hess as vice president of Medicare sales.
- WPS Health Solutions named Wendy Perkins as its next president and CEO.
- Community Health Plan of Washington named Genevieve Caruncho-Simpson, a former UnitedHealthcare regional CEO, as its first chief transformation and innovation officer.
- Oscar Health named Sean Martin, MD, as its new chief medical officer.
- Molina Healthcare named Terrisca Des Jardins as president of its Michigan plan.
- BCBS Vermont tapped Heidi Masi as its director of human resources and Keri LeCompte as its first program director for lifestyle medicine.
- Alameda Alliance for Health named Matthew Woodruff as its new CEO, effective June 1.
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Quartz named Brenda Murphy as vice president and chief human resources officer.
- Regence BlueShield of Idaho promoted Trish Quarles to vice president of sales.
- Blue Shield of California named Haley Mixon as chief human resources officer.
- Aetna's Medicaid plan in Oklahoma named Sonja Hughes, MD, as CEO and Brett Hayes as child welfare strategy officer, the Oklahoma City Sentinel reported.
- SCAN Group named Deepa Sheth as its chief corporate development officer.
- Cigna's SVP and global lead of strategy and business development, Tom Richards, was named EVP of business development at Transcarent.
February
- BCBS Louisiana named Andrew Allen as vice president of health services programs and external partnerships.
- CareFirst BCBS named Dan Zohorsky as vice president of strategy and corporate development.
- Empire BCBS promoted Daniel Jorgenson to regional vice president of provider solutions.
- Arkansas BCBS promoted George Burks to vice president of its group market segment.
- SelectHealth, the nonprofit insurance arm of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, named Rob Hitchcock as president and CEO.
- Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan promoted Jennifer Schirmer to vice president of growth for Medi-Cal.
- CVS Health named Shari Slate as senior vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, effective Feb. 27.
- SelectHealth, the insurance arm of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, named Rob Hitchcock as president and CEO Feb. 15.
- Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan promoted Jennifer Schirmer to vice president of growth for Medi-Cal on Feb. 14.
- Inland Empire Health Plan named Lorena Rodriguez Chandler as its first chief health equity officer Feb. 13.
- Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux was elected to chair the Business Council, becoming the first woman to lead the association of top CEOs in its 90-year history.
- SCAN Health Plan named Michael Blea as chief growth officer.
- Cambia Health Solutions, the parent company of Regence, named Mihir Patel, PharmD, as its new chief pharmacy officer. It also named Tonya Adams as chief health services officer.
- AmeriHealth Caritas named Marla Purvis as Georgia market president.
- GuideWell subsidiary PopHealthCare named Kevin Hiler as chief information officer.
January
- Humana appointed Steward Health Care President Sanjay Shetty, MD, to lead its healthcare services business, CenterWell, effective in April. It also promoted Medicare president, George Renaudin, to president of Medicare and Medicaid, effective immediately.
- Molina Healthcare named Frank Clepper as plan president for its Nebraska operations Jan. 31.
- HealthPartners promoted Kathy Johnson to senior vice president and CFO of the company's health plan.
- PacificSource Health Plans named John Espinola, MD, as president and CEO, effective April 3.
- Cigna's health services arm Evernorth named Adam Kautzner, PharmD, president of Express Scripts.
- Quartz named Jeff Butcher as senior vice president and CFO.
- SCAN Group promoted Karen Schulte to president of Medicare.
- UnitedHealthcare named Marcus Robinson as president of markets for individual and family plan sales.
- BCBS Massachusetts named Debbie Peikes, PhD, as vice president of measurement and evaluation.
- UnitedHealth Group named Dame Vivian Hunt as its new chief innovation officer.
- BCBS Louisiana named Lou Patalano vice president and chief legal officer.
- BCBS Vermont named Margaret Pinello-White chief administrative officer.
- Friday Health Plans named Rhonda Bagby as CFO.
- Highmark Health Plan named COO Tom Doran as president. Deborah Rice-Johnson, the health plan's former CEO, departed to become CEO of diversified business and chief growth officer at parent company Highmark Health.
- Excellus BCBS appointed three employees to senior roles: Mona Chitre, PharmD, was named president of pharmacy solutions, in addition to her existing role as chief pharmacy officer. Lisa Harris, MD, was named senior vice president and corporate medical director. Tony Vitagliano was named senior vice president of provider network engagement.
- Molina Healthcare of New Mexico named Darcie Robran-Marquez, MD, as chief medical officer.
- Commonwealth Care Alliance named Nazlim Hagmann, MD, as senior vice president and associate chief medical officer.
- Providence Health Plan named Ryan Jack as vice president of enterprise strategy and innovation.
- BCBS Louisiana promoted Brian Badinger to vice president of technical programs.
- Centene named Alice Chen, MD, as chief medical officer.
- Clover Health's former president Andrew Toy became CEO.
- BCBS Massachusetts CEO Sarah Iselin assumed her new role Jan. 1.