Insurer Humana’s longtime CEO Broussard to step down next year

(Reuters) – Humana CEO Bruce Broussard will step down in the second half of 2024 after more than a decade at the helm, the insurer said on Wednesday and named healthcare veteran Jim Rechtin as his successor.

Shares of the company, which grew seven-fold in value under 61-year-old Broussard, fell 2.8% to $486.4 in premarket trading.

He led Humana to become the second-largest provider of Medicare Advantage in the U.S. by tripling its membership for the government-backed program to more than 5 million customers.

His successor, Rechtin, will join Humana from Envision Healthcare, a U.S. provider of physicians where he is CEO and president.

As part of a long-planned transition, Rechtin will first be appointed as president and chief operating officer from Jan. 8 next year, before taking over the mantle from Broussard.

“The board of directors has worked diligently to find the right leader who can take Humana into the next phase of growth and transformation,” Chairman Kurt Hilzinger said in a statement.

Broussard also helped the insurer expand beyond Medicare Advantage plans for older adults with the launch of healthcare services under the CenterWell brand in 2021.

He will remain a strategic advisor into 2025, Humana said.

(Reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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