Business
WellPoint to get new CEO
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 12, 2007
Larry Glasscock, who turned a regional health plan called Anthem into a national health insurance colossus called WellPoint, says he will retire as president and CEO of the Indianapolis-based company on June 1.
Glasscock will be succeeded by WellPoint executive vice president Angela Braly who had previously been hired by WellPoint to be CEO of its BlueCross BlueShield of Missouri subsidiary. With Braly in charge, WellPoint, ranked 38th in the Fortune 500, would become the largest publicly traded company with a female CEO.
When Glasscock became CEO in 1999, the company had about 6 million members, mostly in the Midwest. A wave of health plan consolidation boosted its membership to 34 million nationwide and made it the country's largest private health plan.
The company's name changed to WellPoint after Anthem bought California-based WellPoint Health Networks in 2004.
In a prepared statement, Glasscock cited family reasons for his desire to step down from day-to-day management of the company. He will remain as chair, a position he added in 2005.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/03/12/bibf0312.htm.