Payer executives are focused on staying adaptable in 2025.
Becker's connected with 23 executives to learn how they are leveling up their leadership skills for the year ahead.
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Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: How are you becoming a better leader in 2025?
Margaret Anderson. Interim President at Health Alliance Plan: As we enter 2025, I’m shaping my leadership philosophy around mentorship, collaboration and agility. By fostering open dialogue and championing personal growth across all levels, we will cultivate a cohesive organization — one poised to excel in a rapidly transforming healthcare landscape. Our focus on data-driven insights and strategic partnerships will keep us on the leading edge of growth and innovation. Above all, I remain committed to empowering our teams and nurturing a collaborative culture. Guided by these principles, I'm confident we’ll forge new paths and deliver meaningful impact in the coming year.
Damanjeet Chaubey, MD. Vice President, Clinical Affairs at Clover Health: My personal quest to become a better leader will continue to be an evolutionary process of learning, absorbing and taking action. I will particularly pay attention in 2025 to a higher level of engagement with teams to listen, inspire, motivate and execute on a shared vision.
Jessica Chaudhary, MD. Medical Director at Elevance Health: There are some key traits to great leadership. The first is listening and empowering individuals. When people feel empowered they want to do more, and it is important to recognize talent and promote creativity. Second, it is critical to foster open communication and let people know they can voice their concerns. Finally, leading with empathy and courage, while continuously seeking feedback, fosters team building. Looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills is not always easy but can be done in day to day interactions and in leading by example.
Rushil Desai. CEO of Aetna Better Health of Illinois: In 2025, I am becoming a better leader by enhancing my decisiveness in navigating ambiguity through structured decision-making processes. Embracing a mindset that views ambiguity as an opportunity for innovation, I encourage my team to experiment and foster a culture of resilience.
Balancing confidence with adaptability enables effective guidance through challenges, turning them into opportunities for growth. A focus on flexibility ensures the team can pivot when needed and learn from every experience, driving innovation and maintaining momentum, even in uncertain times.
Alex Ding, MD. Associate Vice President, Physician Strategy at Humana: In 2025, I am dedicated to empowering our clinicians to have a stronger voice across the business. Humana's value-based care work has shown us that clinician collaboration drives successful change. By creating opportunities for clinician voices to be heard, I aim to foster a culture where frontline insights lead to meaningful transformation. My focus is on building platforms and leadership pathways that enable clinicians to shape decisions and advocate for the needs of those we serve. This approach ensures their voices are not only heard but also have a significant impact, both within our organization and across the broader healthcare landscape.
Shannon Drotning. Market President, Consumer and Specialty at Providence Health Plan: At Providence Health Plan, our promise to know, care for and ease the way of members, providers and our own caregiver workforce drives everything we do. In 2025, I'm focusing on strengthening the human connections that make our work meaningful. This includes doubling down on skip-level conversations and continuing to build relationships across our whole team. In these challenging times for healthcare, I believe staying close to our people is more important than ever. While our industry keeps moving at lightning speed, I'm deliberately taking a step back to lean in more deeply with my people, focusing on career development beyond annual reviews and helping each person think creatively about their next steps. When we invest in our people and stay true to our promise, we're better equipped to serve our communities and make high-quality healthcare accessible to all.
Emily Durfee. Director, Corporate Venture Capital at Healthworx In 2025, I'm becoming a better leader by getting creative in upskilling my team. My team has many professional development goals, both from organizational imperatives and personal initiatives — and I can teach them some but not all of those skills. Thus, I'm leveraging my wider network and resources to help my team get training from the best resources and trainers available to them, instead of trying to tackle all of the training myself. I'm excited to see how they can eclipse me in their skill sets with this additional support.
Jamie Galbreath, PhD. Director, Quality and Population Health at UCare: As I look into 2025 as the quality and population health leader, my focus is to motivate my teams and peers to work towards improving the health of the diverse members that we serve to achieve high-performing results. Being a role model for my teams means understanding the path forward, following that direction, and more importantly, guiding them along the way to be better leaders. The growth of a leader depends on their ability to unlock the power of others to become better and invest in themselves, and be the same role model for their teams.
Allison Hofmann. National Vice President, Health System Division at Cigna Healthcare: This year I'm continuing to focus on practicing empathy, providing clear communication and direction and being open to feedback. I continue to look at things from my team's perspective to understand the challenges they are facing. It's very important to me to have open lines of communication and ensure everyone feels heard as feedback is critical to success. Lastly, I never want to take myself too seriously as there is always room for laughter and fun in the workplace. We spend so much of our lives working, I want us all to enjoy what we do and know we are making an impact on our overall success.
Michael Hunn. CEO of CalOptima Health: Mentoring your leadership team is about inspiration, not command and control. Being a leader is about respect, and not about whether I like you. Competency is key and if securely attached to the mission then your individual leadership will definitely inspire your teams. Finally, in addition to mentoring, team executive coaching can make a material difference in aligning leadership to successfully execute on your strategic priorities.
Sachin Jain, MD. President and CEO of SCAN Group: I'm becoming a better leader in 2025 by slowing down. Trying to do more by doing less. More deep thinking and less reacting to situations and circumstances — unless situations require it. I'm also trying to align the passions of my team with their work. Creating more space for SCAN's top executives to drive on issues of deep personal importance. I think we will be a better organization for it. This has been a gift of my career that I would like to extend to everyone with whom I work.
Angie Kalousek Ebrahimi. Senior Director, Lifestyle Medicine at Blue Shield of California: As leaders, we are likely subject matter experts in whatever field or area we represent. This depth of expertise is instrumental in leading our teams to success. But I believe that one way to become a better leader is to expand our knowledge-set to areas that might not be as familiar to us. For example, as a clinical leader with expertise in digital care, I am working to deepen my knowledge around healthcare public policy. By expanding my understanding of how policy can affect my work and the work around me, I can be better prepared for opportunities for synergy and growth.
Nancy Klotz, MD. Chief Medical Officer at Brighton Health Plan Solutions: I would like to think of myself as a leader who encompasses both coaching and pacesetting styles. I encourage open feedback and a collaborative approach toward meeting our departmental goals and welcome input from all levels of staff. I recognize that each of my team members has a unique experience and skillset and by creating an inclusive environment I can drive better outcomes for my department. My overreaching goal is to mold a team of subject matter experts who can work independently and reliably. To this end, I have made it a point to know intimately the details of all the roles in my department and take the time to mentor and educate my reports so that they can not only fulfill their roles but continue to grow and expand their skills.
Peter Kuipers. CFO of Clover Health: In 2025, I'm doubling down on building my emotional intelligence — because a CFO's greatest asset isn't just financial acumen, it's trust, empathy, and connection. EQ is the secret weapon that drives better decisions, stronger teams and deeper collaboration. In an age of AI and automation, it's our humanity that sets great leaders apart.
Kiki Louis, MD. Senior Vice President, Clinical Member Services at Oscar Health: Becoming a better leader in 2025 means embracing adaptability, fostering collaboration and leading with purpose. Healthcare is a rapidly changing space and so I've prioritized clear communication and transparency to ensure my team remains aligned and supported through transitions. I am focusing on empowering and enabling innovation. I am focused on ensuring that our team's work is aligned with organizational goals and fostering a sense of shared purpose. Last, I am striving to lead with empathy and recognizing that a people-first approach builds trust and resilience. Leadership for me isn't about perfection — it's about progress, authenticity and creating an environment where everyone on the team thrives.
Hilary Marden-Resnik. President and CEO of UCare: My entire career, I have been on a journey to evolve and enhance my leadership skills so that I can be the best possible leader to support my teams in carrying out their work. As I look ahead to 2025, I commit to continue that journey by listening to as many voices — especially divergent voices — as possible before making decisions. I also commit to celebrate successes and the positive impact we have on the lives of our members and communities, while being transparent about and reflective when encountering setbacks. Finally, I commit to remaining laser-focused on creating a workplace environment in which every employee feels welcome, valued, respected and appreciated regardless of who they are, what they do, or where they come from.
Erin Henderson Moore. President and CEO of Fidelis Care New Jersey: In 2025, I'm becoming a better leader by leaning into both empathy and accountability. I'm focused on seeing the best in people, recognizing their strengths, and giving them the space to grow, but I'm also committed to having the hard conversations when necessary to ensure we meet our goals and stay aligned. I've realized that leadership is as much about listening and empowering as it is about setting clear expectations and holding others — and myself — accountable. At the same time, I'm prioritizing my own mental health, understanding that I can't show up fully for my team or our mission without taking care of myself first. By fostering open, honest communication and maintaining balance, I'm trying to create an environment where trust and performance can thrive. Leadership in 2025, for me, is about showing up authentically, staying grounded, and being unafraid to face challenges head-on while keeping people at the heart of what we do.
Mark Mugiishi, MD. President and CEO of Hawaii Medical Service Association: I've always believed the most important job of any leader is to create coordinated movement. This isn't easy as people are busy, and the world has become increasingly more complex with constant moving targets. In 2025, I am focused on creating coordinated movement at HMSA to better plan and align, collaborate, communicate effectively with transparency, and instill trust. These efforts take time and energy, but it's worth it to be able to move in the same direction with the same goals in mind.
Philip Randall. Director, Population Health & Community Programs at Banner|Aetna: In 2025, carving out time for listening sessions with colleagues is top of mind. The industry experienced significant shifts last year, making now the perfect time to check in with our teams, assess how they're adapting and identify areas where they might need additional support.
Also, the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson and the response that followed on social media unsettled many people across our industry and spurred conversations about how our work is perceived by the public. It's critical to regularly engage with colleagues on this topic and reaffirm the value of our important work — which is to connect members to high-quality, effective healthcare and make a meaningful impact on their health and lives. One of the best ways to do this is by sharing in their own words stories from our members that illustrate the impact of our efforts.
Robert Rutkowski, MD. Senior Medical Director, Practice Transformation & UPMC for Kids at UPMC Health Plan: At UPMC Health Plan we foster an environment of continuous learning. In 2025, I will be actively seeking feedback as a way to learn from my experiences. I will continue to prioritize clear communication and empathy, ensuring my team feels heard and validated. I will embrace innovation and encourage collaboration to advance the health plan's mission by fostering a positive and productive work environment. I believe that servant leadership is vital to the workplace and by living this I can be a better leader in 2025.
Jennifer St. Thomas. Senior Vice President, Commercial & Medicare Markets at Mass General Brigham Health Plan: A new year is always a great time to think about goal setting and how I can continue to foster a collaborative, effective work culture for our team and my colleagues. In a hybrid work environment, connection is critical, as is working on being present, staying curious, and supporting clear communication. As a people-first organization committed to innovative products and unparalleled service, employee engagement supports our ability to provide exceptional experiences for our members.
Ty Wang. Co-Founder and CEO of Angle Health. In 2025, I'm focused on becoming a better leader by fostering a culture of continuous innovation, intellectual and operational rigor, and high performance within our team. We're leveraging AI to redefine the healthcare benefits experience and anticipate member and patient needs. However, this innovation starts internally — empowering our teams to challenge norms, safely and compliantly experiment with new ideas and technologies, and build from first principles. By investing in our people and creating an environment where bold ideas can thrive, we are committed to building a company that shapes the future of healthcare.
Mike Weber. Vice President, Sales and Retention at Dean Health Plan by Medica: In 2025, I'm focusing on aligning my efforts with what's most important, making sure my time advances my role's purpose. I'll strive to listen more, learn from others, and allow space for success—and failure. By stepping back, I can empower my team while staying open to new ideas. I'll also challenge myself to learn from other industries, exploring how their challenges and opportunities can inspire innovation in my own work.