Optum CEO Andrew Witty is named president of UnitedHealth Group
Witty will continue his duties as CEO of Optum.
Optum CEO Sir Andrew Witty has been named UnitedHealth Group President.
Witty is taking over the president's role that has been vacant since 2017 when UnitedHealth Group President David Wichmann was named CEO. Witty will also continue his duties as CEO of Optum.
As president of UHG, Witty will oversee enterprise business strategy formulation, enterprise business development and partnerships and oversight of enterprise research and development and clinical capacities, the company said.
Witty was named executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group, and chief executive officer, Optum, in March 2018. He is also a member of the Office of the Chief Executive and previously served as a UnitedHealth Group company director.
From 2008 to 2017, Witty was chief executive officer and a director of the pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. He joined GSK in 1985, and prior to being named CEO, served as president of GSK Europe.
Witty is former chancellor of the University of Nottingham, a British public research university, and serves on the Singapore Prime Minister's R&D Advisory Board. He is an advisor to 8VC and Hatteras Venture Partners, as well as to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Witty was knighted in 2012 for services to the U.K. economy.
ON THE RECORD
"Optum has made remarkable progress under Andrew's leadership over the past 18 months, clarifying and focusing its strategy, and driving key priorities to advance Optum's position as a leader in health care services," said David S. Wichmann, UnitedHealth Group CEO. "I'm confident that expanding Andrew's strategic insights more broadly across the company will help accelerate the next phase of innovation and growth at UnitedHealth Group as we focus on building and shaping the next generation health system in a socially conscious way."
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