Optum, a big revenue-driver of UnitedHealth Group, is led by a medley of health insurance veterans, past hospital executives and healthcare outsiders.
Here are 16 Optum executives to know:
1. Sir Andrew Witty, CEO. While Sir Witty is on leave to help lead the World Health Organization's COVID-19 vaccine efforts, he will return to his role afterward. In addition to serving as CEO of Optum, Sir Witty was named the president of UnitedHealth in 2019. Before joining Optum in 2018, he was the CEO and director of GlaxoSmithKline from 2008-17. He was knighted in 2012 for services to the U.K. economy.
2. Jean Benson, executive vice president and CFO. As executive vice president and CFO, Ms. Benson oversees Optum's financial strategy. She joined Optum in 2012 and has held other finance roles within UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth, and Optum. Ms. Benson began her career in public accounting and worked as an executive in the financial services industry before joining UnitedHealth.
3. Wyatt Decker, MD, CEO of OptumHealth. Dr. Decker joined Optum in 2019 as CEO of OptumHealth, where he leads care delivery and ambulatory care services for OptumCare. Before joining Optum, Dr. Decker spent more than 20 years at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, where he previously served as CMO and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona in Phoenix.
4. Andrew Hayek, executive vice president and senior adviser to the CEO. Mr. Hayek is the previous CEO of OptumHealth. He joined Optum in 2017 through the acquisition of Surgical Care Affiliates, where he was chairman and CEO since 2008.
5. Richard Mattera, executive vice president and chief legal officer. Mr. Mattera runs all legal, regulatory and compliance activities for Optum. He started at Optum in 2011 and joined UnitedHealth's legal team in 2012. He previously served as a partner at international law firm Hogan Lovells.
6. Erin McSweeney, executive vice president and chief human resource officer. Ms. McSweeney was executive vice president of global human resources for EMC Corp., now Dell EMC, before joining Optum. She also served as chief human resources officer at VCE, a joint venture of EMC, Cisco and VMWare.
7. Eric Murphy, chief growth and commercial officer. Mr. Murphy joined Optum in 2008. He previously led the company's OptumInsight and Optum Payer Solutions units. Before joining Optum, he was president of business development and global outsourcing services for Computer Sciences Corp.
8. Robert Musslewhite, CEO of OptumInsight. Mr. Musslewhite oversees the $10 billion OptumInsight analytics and data platform, which grew out of the acquisition of The Advisory Board Co. Before joining Optum, Mr. Musslewhite was CEO of Optum 360, CEO of Optum Analytics and CEO of Advisory Board Research. He joined Optum in 2017 after serving as CEO of the Advisory Board since 2008.
9. John Prince, CEO of OptumRx. Mr. Prince runs Optum's pharmacy business, OptumRx. He previously served as executive vice president and COO of Optum, and has held several roles within UnitedHealth since 2005. Before joining UnitedHealth, Mr. Prince was the senior vice president and head of healthcare business development and strategy at JPMorgan Chase.
10. John Santelli, CIO of UnitedHealth and executive vice president of Optum Technology. Mr. Santelli leads Optum's technology delivery division and also serves as the CIO for UnitedHealth. He joined UnitedHealth in 1986 and has held the CIO position since 2007.
11. Dan Schumacher, president and COO. Mr. Schumacher became president and COO of Optum in 2019. He was named to the office of the CEO for UnitedHealth in 2017. Before his role at Optum, Mr. Schumacher held several roles within UnitedHealthcare, including CFO and controller.
12. Sheryl Skolnick, executive vice president of strategic relationships. Ms. Skolnick is the executive vice president of strategic relationships at Optum. Before joining Optum in 2018, she was a financial analyst and thought leader within the healthcare sector for more than 30 years. Most recently, she was managing director, director of research and senior healthcare analyst at Mizuho Securities.
13. Lynne Stockstad, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. As executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Optum, Ms. Stockstad oversees the company's brand strategy. She joined Optum in 2014 as senior vice president of product and consumer marketing. Before Optum, Ms. Stockstad was at Microsoft for 12 years in global leadership roles.
14. Grant Verstandig, chief digital officer. Mr. Verstandig became chief digital officer of Optum in 2017. He was the founder and CEO of digital health company Rally Health, which is now a subsidiary of Optum. Mr. Verstandig also is a senior adviser to the National Security Agency.
15. Tim Wicks, executive vice president. Optum Executive Vice President Mr. Wicks has held several leadership positions within UnitedHealth in the past 18 years, including CFO of Optum, president and CEO of OptumRx, and others. Before joining the company, he was CFO, president and COO of a Fortune 500 transportation and logistics service provider.
16. Norman Wright, executive vice president and chief customer officer. Prior to becoming executive vice president and chief customer officer of Optum, Mr. Wright was responsible for leading global operations across Optum. He joined Optum in 2013, and before that, was the managing director of client experience for Citigroup's consumer operations in North America.