Mr. Witty will take on the role immediately, while Mr. Wichmann will continue in a transitional role through March 2021.
Mr. Witty was named CEO of Optum in March 2018, adding the role of president of UnitedHealth in November 2019. He has previously served as a company director for UnitedHealth.
In 2020, Mr. Witty took a leave of absence from April to December to serve as a global envoy for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 efforts. He also was an adviser for the U.K. government’s vaccine taskforce.
Prior to his time at UnitedHealth, Mr. Witty was the CEO and director of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline from 2008-17. He was knighted in 2012 for services to the U.K. economy.
Additionally, UnitedHealth named Dirk McMahon its new president and COO. Mr. McMahon has served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the company’s health insurance business, since June 2019.
More articles on payers:
Blue Shield of California to oversee state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution
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UnitedHealth must redo 67K claims, judge rules
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