Promotions aimed at enhancing strong leadership team and innovating for the future
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) recently announced several senior leadership changes, aimed at delivering on its promise to unite diverse talent and deepen its commitment to improve health outcomes for communities across the state.
“As the health care landscape continues to evolve, it is important that we ensure our teams are strategically aligned to support the future of our business,” said Maurice Smith, president, BCBSIL. “These changes are part of our ongoing commitment to meet the needs of today’s health care consumer and innovate to meet local market needs for our employer group, government and individual plan members.”
Leaders assuming new or expanded responsibility, reporting directly to Smith, include:
- Brian Snell promoted to Divisional Senior Vice President, Illinois Group Markets. In his new role, Snell will lead the Illinois Sales and Account Management team in the growth of our Group business. He will play a pivotal role in ensuring that we continue to deliver on our customer-first operational excellence and anticipating customer needs with data-driven solutions. Snell is an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of experience with BCBSIL. Previously, he served in leadership roles in underwriting, account management and sales.
- Michael Abbene, Vice President, Sales, will take on an expanded role, adding account management responsibilities for middle and large accounts to his current national accounts responsibilities. Abbene and his team are responsible for the overall account management functions for major/national accounts, including client retention, revenue and customer satisfaction outcomes.
- Nathan Linsley promoted to Vice President, Network Management. Linsley will lead BCBSIL’s network innovation efforts centered on going deeper with providers to enable whole-person care. Linsley’s team will focus on building more fee-for-value relationships and ensuring that members have access to the best providers based on quality, performance and other key health care quality indicators to help close gaps in care. Prior to joining Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Nathan worked for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) in its corporate transactions department, supporting the company’s merger and acquisition activities. BCBSIL is a division of HCSC.
- Dana L. Holmes promoted to Chief of Staff, Office of the President. In her new role, Holmes will lead strategic planning, budget coordination and multi-year business goals for the company. She will also serve as the liaison for the Office of the President, supporting collaboration and communications across the five divisions that comprise HCSC and with key community stakeholders. Holmes joined BCBSIL in 2017 as the executive director of Communications and Positioning with more than 20 years’ experience in business operations and strategy.
These accomplished leaders will join Dr. Derek Robinson, vice president, chief medical officer; Donna Levigne, divisional senior vice president, Illinois Health Delivery; and Jill Wolowitz, vice president, Government and Community Relations to comprise BCBSIL’s new senior leadership team.
“This team is well positioned to leverage its strengths and collective experiences to drive growth and deepen our partnerships with members, employers, providers and communities to help them achieve their health goals,” said Smith. “Together, these changes will strengthen BCBSIL’s ability to be a trusted community health connector and expand access to quality, cost-effective health care to as many people as possible in Illinois.”