By Anna Wilde Mathews
Aetna Inc. named Karen S. Rohan as its president, positioning
her as a possible successor to Chief Executive Mark T.
Bertolini.
Mr. Bertolini, 58 years old, has served as the insurer's
president since 2007, adding the CEO title in 2010 and becoming
chairman in 2011.
Ms. Rohan, 51, will take on the new position on Jan 1. She has
been an executive vice president overseeing local and regional
business, and she now will add responsibility for national and
government segments, as well as specialty products. She also has
led Aetna's integration of Coventry Health Care.
Before coming to Aetna in 2012, Ms. Rohan was at Magellan Health
Services Inc., and earlier was an executive at Cigna Corp.
In a release, Mr. Bertolini said Ms. Rohan was "a proven leader
and has been instrumental in implementing our business
strategy."
The move appeared to signal that Aetna is doing some succession
planning, said Sarah James, an analyst with Wedbush Securities,
pointing to Mr. Bertolini's own pathway to the top job. "Usually,
someone takes the role of president, and then they move on to CEO,"
she said. "It's been a step process for them."
Aetna also said that Joseph M. Zubretsky, 58, will remain senior
executive vice president, focused on its Healthagen operations.
Aetna is announcing the moves ahead of its investor day,
scheduled for Dec. 11. The insurer has raised its earnings outlook
for the year, but it has also drawn questions from analysts because
of some signs of cost pressure in its results, most recently in
middle-market employers with 50 to 300 workers. Aetna has said that
it has implemented rate increases that will correct for the
unexpected trend.
Shares closed at $87.54 on Monday, up 28% for the year.
Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com
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