EAGAN, Minn., July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue
Cross) today announced the promotions of two executives to its
senior leadership team. Monica
Engel, a 29-year Blue Cross veteran, now serves as senior
vice president and president of government markets. Dana Erickson, who joined the organization in
2015, has assumed the role of senior vice president of health
services. With these two promotions, female executives now
represent 50 percent of the executive leadership team for the first
time in the history of the organization.
"In order to effectively pursue our mission to inspire change,
transform care and improve health, it's vital for our leadership
team to be not only talented and experienced, but also vibrant,
distinct and diverse," said Dr. Craig
Samitt, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Minnesota. "We are proud to
elevate such accomplished leaders from within the organization.
Both Monica and Dana have made significant contributions to Blue
Cross and they were natural choices to join our senior leadership
team."
With women in four of the top eight executive roles, the senior
team joins other leadership areas at Blue Cross that have
significant female representation, including supervisors (82
percent), managers (67 percent), directors (64 percent), and vice
presidents (31 percent).
Monica Engel, Senior Vice
President, President of Government Markets
As senior vice president and president of government markets for
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Monica
Engel is responsible for the organization's government
health program business which includes Medicare, Medicaid, Federal
Employee and Individual market segments.
During Engel's tenure at Blue Cross, she has held leadership
positions across several market segments, including Medicare,
public sector, organized labor and consumer markets. In her most
recent position as president of Medicare, Engel guided the
organization in its efforts to help Minnesota seniors navigate the federally
mandated sunset of Medicare Cost plans which affected more than
400,000 people in the state.
Engel holds a degree in business management and studied
strategic leadership at the Kellogg School of Management and has
completed the Minnesota Management Institute program from the
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. She is president
of the Women's Health Leadership TRUST, an active member of Women
Business Leaders, and a board member for the Minnesota Council of
Health Plans. Engel was named a 2019 Women in Business honoree by
the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.
Dana Erickson, Senior Vice
President, Health Services
As senior vice president and president of health services,
Dana Erickson is responsible for the
overall strategic planning, development, implementation and
administration of care management, provider relations, pharmacy and
medical management.
Erickson joined Blue Cross in 2015 as senior director of care
management before being promoted to vice president of the same
division the following year. She previously held clinical and
medical leadership roles at Univita Health and Optum Health, where
her tenure included serving as vice president of strategic
accounts. Additionally, Erickson spent two years serving in
Anoka County as a nursing leader,
a role in which she oversaw home-based services for the senior and
disabled populations of Minnesota's fourth most-populous county. A
registered nurse and respiratory therapist, Erickson has
administered direct patient care in addition to leading
rehabilitation center operations.
Erickson studied social work at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and holds a
bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota
(bluecrossmn.com), with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to
carry out its charter mission today as a health company: to promote
a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services
for the people of Minnesota. Blue
Cross is a not-for-profit, taxable organization. Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Minnesota is an
independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association,
headquartered in Chicago.
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SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota