Capital BlueCross Names St. Hilaire Company President

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- William Lehr Jr., chairman and CEO of Capital BlueCross, today announced that he has named Gary D. St. Hilaire to be president of Capital BlueCross.  The Capital BlueCross board of directors unanimously approved Lehr's recommendation at its regular meeting Tuesday.

As president of Capital BlueCross, St. Hilaire will take on additional strategic leadership responsibilities for the $3 billion-plus company.  

St. Hilaire joined Capital BlueCross in 2005 as senior vice president and chief financial officer.  In July 2009, he was promoted to executive vice president.  Previous to his appointment to president, St. Hilaire was responsible for the financial operations of the company.

"Gary has been an instrumental member of the executive team at Capital BlueCross," Lehr said.  "His exceptional leadership and nearly 25 years of diversified experience in the health-care industry has been an extraordinary asset for Capital BlueCross.  Health care is transforming at lightning speed, and as I lead that effort, I need a proven and savvy executive who is focused on strategic leadership.  Gary will be of invaluable assistance to me as we together take this great company strongly into the future."

"Under Bill's leadership, this company has at once strengthened its operating performance while transforming its competitive position in a rapidly evolving economy," St. Hilaire said.  "It has been a privilege to be part of his leadership team, and it will be an even greater privilege to serve Bill and the company in this new capacity."

Before joining Capital Blue Cross, St. Hilaire was a co-founder, treasurer and chief financial officer, as well as a member of the board of directors, of Choicelinx Corp., a health-care technology company based in New Hampshire.  He also has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc. in Boston.  

St. Hilaire received a bachelor's degree in management advisory services from New Hampshire College and is a Certified Public Accountant.  He serves on the board of Harrisburg-based Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts and resides in Mechanicsburg, Pa. with his wife Sylvie and their six children.

Capital BlueCross is the leading health insurer in its region, providing health-insurance coverage to nearly 1 million people in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

Capital BlueCross is committed to making health insurance simple for its customers and members through all the stages of life by offering nationally acclaimed customer service and a full range of innovative benefit programs for groups and individuals at competitive prices. Capital BlueCross received a high honor for its service by ranking highest in Member Satisfaction among all commercial health plans in the Pennsylvania Region, according to the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates National Health Insurance Plan Study. J.D. Power and Associates

By establishing a culture of caring, Capital BlueCross constantly strives to do more in order to deliver more for the men, women and children who depend on the company for their health-insurance needs.  Capital BlueCross has been providing health security to the people and communities of central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley for more than 70 years and employs about 2,000 people in the region.

Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., Capital BlueCross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

More information about Capital BlueCross and its subsidiaries can be found by going to www.capbluecross.com.

SOURCE Capital BlueCross