Blue Cross adds new executive team members
Less than a month after several top executives left Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the state’s largest health insurer announced April 10 it has appointed new members to its leadership team.
The company named James Eppel as chief operating officer and hired James Egan as chief information officer.
As COO, Eppel oversees commercial markets, government programs and health management, among other duties.
Eppel previously served as Blue Cross’ senior vice president of health management and commercial markets, a position in which he was accountable for all aspects of health management.
Prior to joining Blue Cross in 2007, Eppel held senior leadership positions with Allina Hospitals and Clinics, UnitedHealth Group, and Medica.
Egan comes to Blue Cross from Outcomes Health Information Solutions where he served as CIO. He previously served in executive roles at Ingenix (United Health) and Cardinal Health.
As CIO, Egan is responsible for leading the company’s overall technology strategy in support of current and future business endeavors.
“These are very collaborative and accessible leaders who get actively engaged in delivering results,” CEO Kenneth Burdick said in a news release. “I know that their collective expertise, along with their shared commitment to our nonprofit mission, will allow our organization to deliver even stronger products and services…”
Other new appointments include Garrett Black who was named senior vice president of health management, Rochelle Myers, who was named vice president of strategic planning and portfolio management, and David Spalding who was named senior vice president of business development.
As senior vice president of health at Blue Cross, Black leads network management, health economics, medical management and integrated health management.
Prior to joining Blue Cross in 2010, Black served as chief strategy officer for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and as system director for strategic development at Allina Hospitals and Clinics.
In her position as vice president of strategic planning and portfolio management, Myers is responsible for leading the development and execution of Blue Cross’ strategic plan, among other duties.
Myers most recently served as director of strategic planning in which she led the development of the company’s health care reform strategy.
She previously served in several key leadership positions at Blue Cross.
Prior to joining the health insurer, Myers worked in banking and the financial services industry.
As senior vice president of business development, Spalding oversees affiliate companies, revenue diversification and innovation.
Spalding was previously vice president of ancillary business lines at Blue Cross and CEO of SelectAccount, a Blue Cross subsidiary that provides administrative and custodial services for consumer-directed spending accounts.
Two employees had their duties expanded as part of the initiative. Senior Vice President Patricia Riley will take on governmental affairs and public policy in addition to her governmental programs responsibilities. Senior Vice President Colleen Connors will add communications and community relations to her existing responsibilities in human resources and facilities.
Riley has more than 30 years of experience in health and human services in the area of government programs.
Before joining Blue Cross in 2006, Riley was president and CEO of Stratis Health, a nonprofit quality improvement organization for the state of Minnesota. She also led government program initiatives at United Healthcare and Aetna Health Plans, and served as director of the Minnesota Medicaid Demonstration Project.
Prior to joining Blue Cross in 2008, Connors served as senior vice president and global head of talent strategy at The Bank of New York Mellon. Her career also includes human resources leadership positions for Aetna Healthcare and Prudential Healthcare.
