Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group has announced the creation of a new Office of the Chief Executive and a move that will poise two key executives to prepare for a race to succeed the current CEO, Stephen J. Hemsley, as well as the departure of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, Gail Boudreaux, according to a recent article in the Star Tribune.
According to the article, company officials said Ms. Boudreaux had achieved the growth and performance goals that the company initiated upon her joining UnitedHealth six years ago, but her division didn't achieve every goal it had set over the last few years, which resulted in her not receiving the highest possible incentive payments for performance.
Ms. Boudreaux will remain employed with the company and help provide transitional assistance until Feb. 27.
According to the article, the new Office of the Chief Executive will include Mr. Hemsley, David S. Wichmann, who is currently CFO and will take on the role of president, and Larry C. Renfro, currently the CEO of UnitedHealth's data-analytics division, Optum, as vice chairman, effective immediately. Marianne Short, executive vice president and chief legal officer, and Ellen Wilson, executive vice president for human capital, will also be included in the new Office of Chief Executive.
Following the creation of the office, Mr. Wichmann will oversee UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of the company, and overall UnitedHealth Group performance, the company told Star Tribune. He will transition out of his current CFO role over the next 12 to 18 months.
Mr. Renfro will remain the CEO of UnitedHealth's Optum health-services business, but he will now take on the responsibility of certain areas of the parent company, including key client relationships and growth efforts, according to the Star Tribune.
According to the article, Peter Costa, a senior stock analyst at Wells Fargo, wrote in a note to investors, "We believe UnitedHealth was due for a management shake-up given recent performance, which lagged its peers in certain areas … many of which were Boudreaux’s responsibilities."