Amar Desai, MD, is out as CEO of Optum Health, Bloomberg reported June 26. Patrick Conway, MD, CEO of Optum, will also take over as CEO of Optum’s health division, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal memo. Dr. Desai will remain…
Executive Moves
Curana Health has named Derek Chao, MD, as president and chief medical officer. Previously, Dr. Chao served as CEO of Optum Health’s western region, where he oversaw operations and care delivery across nine states. He had been with the company…
CVS Health has named Jeffrey Fernandez as senior vice president of Medicare at Aetna. Mr. Fernandez previously served as SVP of population health and CEO at Ochsner Health Plan. Prior to that, he held a variety of leadership roles at…
Becker’s has reported on 15 new or departing leaders from some of the nation’s largest health plans since the start of 2025: 15 recent payer leadership moves:
Banner|Aetna has named John Byrnes as chief operating officer. Mr. Byrnes will manage daily operations and lead the Phoenix-based company’s strategic efforts, according to a June 3 news release. He has been with Aetna for more than 15 years, most…
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The Cigna Group has appointed Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Executive Chairman Michael Hennigan to its board of directors. Mr. Hennigan has been with Marathon since 2017 and previously served as CEO, according to a June 2 Cigna news release. His past…
Point32Health, the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, has named Patrick Gilligan as its new CEO, effective June 16. Mr. Gilligan joins Point32Health from consulting firm CWH Advisors, where he was a partner. Previously, he…
UnitedHealthcare Community & State CEO, Krista Nelson, has been named COO at Optum Health. Ms. Nelson served as CEO of the company’s Medicaid division beginning in 2024, and she has been with the company since 2009. “It has been an…
Humana has named Douglas Edwards as president of Humana Military. Mr. Edwards has nearly 10 years of leadership experience at Humana, according to a May 27 LinkedIn post from Humana. He was most recently senior vice president, enterprise associate and…
UnitedHealth Group’s former CEO Andrew Witty has resigned from the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. Mr. Witty will not stand for re-election as a director during the company’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled for June 2, the company said in…