Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota names Michael J. Guyette as president and CEO

EAGAN, Minn., Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) board of  trustees announced today the appointment of Michael J. Guyette as president and chief executive officer. Guyette will begin his duties on January 7. Scott Lynch, who had been serving as president and chief executive officer on an interim basis, will remain senior vice president and chief legal officer.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121217/DC30954)

Guyette most recently served as president of national accounts for Aetna in Hartford, Conn., where he was responsible for overseeing operational performance and business strategy for Aetna's national accounts division serving more than 8 million members.  Prior to joining Aetna in 2010, he held senior leadership positions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida for eight years, including senior vice president for the company's diversified business unit.  He also served as chief sales officer and group vice president for its national business unit.

Guyette previously held a variety of senior sales and marketing positions with Independence Blue Cross/AmeriHealth Inc. in both Philadelphia and Houston.  He also worked for Prudential Healthcare and Continental Insurance in various Texas and Oklahoma markets.

In 2010, Guyette served as chairman for the Consortium of Health Plans, a coalition of 21 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans founded in 1994 to help position the Blues system as the carrier of choice for national accounts.

"On behalf of the board, I want to express how pleased we are to have Michael Guyette leading Blue Cross into the next phase of our work as a company committed to the health of all," said Vance Opperman, chair of the Blue Cross board of trustees.  "He has a strong track record in driving organizational growth, fostering operational excellence and innovation.  Michael has demonstrated great leadership and strategic focus in his previous roles, and given his strong health industry experience he is ideally suited to take the helm of the state's largest health plan in today's fast-paced, dynamic environment."

"I look forward to leading Blue Cross during a time of unprecedented change and opportunity in the health care industry," said Guyette. "Blue Cross has a longstanding record of excellence and innovation, an incredibly dedicated team, and is well poised to build on its ability to drive better health for its members at a greater value."

A native of Rhode Island, Guyette holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and an MBA from Villanova University in Villanova, Penn. 

Editor's note: A full bio of Michael Guyette and photo are available.  

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

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota