UPDATED: Geisinger CEO will not lead Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire Hathaway healthcare company
Executives said Thursday they had chosen a CEO to lead their healthcare company.
The new CEO to lead the healthcare company formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase will not be Geisinger CEO David Feinberg, according to CNBC.
The executives had chosen a CEO and the name would be announced within two weeks, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said Thursday.
But on Friday, Geisinger CEO David Feinberg, reportedly the group's top choice, said he remained committed to staying at Geisinger.
Feinberg did not directly say that he was offered the job, but sources told CNBC that the CEOs heading the healthcare company had not accounced the name on Thursday because Feinberg had not yet accepted the job.
"The three of us and the new CEO, we basically reached agreement," Buffett told CNBC referring to Amazon chief Bezos and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. "The work has been done and we have the right CEO."
Names floated for the position when the search was announced earlier this year include former Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, former acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Andy Slavitt, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Castlight Health cofounder Todd Park and former Aetna executive Gary Loveman.
However Feinberg's name was at the top of that list, according to CNBC.
Berkshire Hathaway investment manager Todd Combs led the search process, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC.
"We have an outstanding individual," Dimon added, who has the "capability, heart, mind, the whole thing."
Since Buffett, Dimon and Bezos announced in January that they were forming a healthcare company for their 1 million-plus employees, there's been speculation as to what form the alliance would take and how far the disruption would extend into the industry.
The new, unnamed company has been closelly watched as it will have the ability to use data and technology to take cost out of the system, combined with Amazon's ability to individualize a consumer-centric approach to healthcare.
"With big data there's so many things to do," Dimon said, "but the goal is better satisfaction for employees and eventually we can learn a lot of things and maybe help inform America how we can improve some of these things.
"This is a long term thing, we're not looking for immediate success," Dimon added. "But there are a lot of ideas out there. A lot of things can be done better. We know the fraud, the administrative cost, we know overuse and underuse of various drugs and specialized procedures, we know the end of life often costs far more than it should and it's far more painful than it should be."
Buffett said that in interviewing prospective CEOs, they didn't run into one who didn't think significant improvement was both possible and important.
"They know how difficult the job will be to make major changes," Buffett said. "Nobody disagreed with the mission, the importance of it or the feasibility. But it's also a very, very tough nut to crack and it's going to take significant time."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com