Independence Blue Cross reports organizational and personnel changes
New roles provide focus on corporate strategy
Philadelphia, PA — December 14, 2012 — With a focus on exceeding customers’ expectations through innovative leadership, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) reports six key organizational changes:
Yvette Bright, executive vice president and chief transformation officer, will continue to oversee human resources while assuming accountability for information services, service operations, and a new multi-year initiative to enhance the customer experience and lower operating costs through migration to a new operating platform. Since joining IBC in 1991, Bright has led the company’s growing eBusiness initiatives. In 2005, she was appointed senior vice president for eBusiness and operations and assumed oversight of all operational areas – including claims processing, member services, and enrollment – in addition to eBusiness. She was named senior vice president and chief administrative officer in 2009.
John Janney steps into the newly created role of senior vice president health care reform implementation and transformation. In this position, he is helping bring cross-functional coordination to health care reform-related projects and mandates to ensure IBC’s implementation of the law. Janney joined IBC in 1995 to lead a newly-formed marketing systems department. Later, he led the initiative to address the eCommerce needs of physicians, hospitals, brokers, employers, and members, and in 2006 he was appointed to vice president of eBusiness and enrollment services. He was promoted to senior vice president of eBusiness and support services in 2009 and led the Marketing division from 2010 until accepting his new role.
Brian Lobley is promoted to senior vice president of marketing and consumer business where he will provide oversight of product services, retail capabilities, and eBusiness. The new position will allow IBC to continue developing and executing a successful strategy for the consumer market, as well as the company’s commercial and retail lines. Lobley joined IBC in 2001 and most recently served as the vice president of corporate strategy development and execution where he and his team of associates, contractors, and consultants focused on corporate strategy, project execution, and business process improvement.
Somesh Nigam, Ph.D., joined IBC as senior vice president and chief informatics officer. In this role, he is leading the company’s informatics division, which develops valuable business reporting tools and analytics to better serve IBC’s customers and stakeholders. The division has been recognized as one of the top Blue Cross Blue Shield informatics groups in the country. Nigam provides strategic direction to drive business innovation and further distinguish IBC as a health care innovator in a dynamic marketplace. He brings more than 20 years of technological and entrepreneurial experience. Most recently, Nigam served as vice president of health care informatics, scientific, and clinical affairs at Johnson & Johnson where he created a new enterprise-wide health informatics capability to provide data and analytic tools.
Lauren O’Brien was promoted to senior vice president and chief accounting officer. In her expanded role, she helps position IBC as a trusted business advisor, driving value and influencing business outcomes. She has provided leadership within the company’s finance division since 2009 when she joined IBC as vice president and chief accounting officer. In that time, O’Brien successfully enhanced and transformed the accounting areas, resulting in increased efficiency and performance. She led the development of new corporate accounting, accounting operations, and financial planning and analysis areas to enhance the accounting, reporting, billing, collections, and annual and strategic financial planning functions for IBC.
Steve Udvarhelyi, M.D., in his role of executive vice president of health services and chief strategy officer, newly assumes leadership of strategy and innovation, business development, and corporate and association affairs. While he maintains his existing leadership of clinical services, contracting and provider networks, and informatics, this new role reflects the critical importance that health and wellness, provider relationships, and health care data and information play in the company’s long-term strategy. Dr. Udvarhelyi previously served 13 years as senior vice president and chief medical officer at IBC, overseeing medical management programs and policies, provider contracting and relations, enterprise-wide information management, and pharmacy services. He joined IBC in 1996.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is a leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we have 3.1 million members nationwide. For nearly 75 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more about how we’re changing the game, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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Contact:
Kathleen Conlon
215-241-4576
Kathleen.Conlon@ibx.com
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