Florida Blue Appoints Darnell Smith Market President for North Florida Region

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Blue has appointed Darnell Smith Market President – North Florida Region, effective immediately. In his new role, Smith is responsible for Florida Blue's business market growth, as well as customer and community involvement across 36 North Florida counties, stretching from Palm Coast through Pensacola. 

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This is the first time that the company has had a market president in North Florida. Due to the area's strong employer presence and its high potential for growth, the company determined that creating a leadership position in the region would be a valuable asset.

"In selecting Darnell Smith for this high-profile role, the company will be leveraging his deep market and customer knowledge, business and community relationships, and more than 20 years' experience with Florida Blue," said Pat Geraghty, chairman and CEO of Florida Blue. "This new position calls for an individual with exceptional leadership and community engagement skills across a critical geography for the company, and Darnell is perfectly suited for the role."

Previously, Smith was group vice president of the Service Organization and Business Process Management Organization (BPMO) for Florida Blue, where he was responsible for leading a team of approximately 2,000 people who provide service to more than 4 million customers each year.

Within BPMO, he oversaw the company's business process management strategy and deployment of Continuous Improvement and Six Sigma methodologies. Prior to that role, Smith was vice president of Virtual Office, where he helped transform operations by streamlining services for providers and members.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University. He currently serves on the boards of Communities in Schools of Florida, the Florida Blue Foundation, Cathedral Arts Project and the YMCA of Florida's First Coast.

About Florida Blue

Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is a leader in Florida's health care industry. Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health. Florida Blue has approximately 4.3 million health care members and covers 15.8 million people in 16 states through its affiliated companies. Florida Blue is a not-for-profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.floridablue.com.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida