Officials of the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut said Monday they have named someone with deep roots in the state to be the local company’s next president.
Lou Gianquinto is replacing Jill Hummel, who led Wallingford-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut for the past seven years before retiring recently. Gianquinto will start his new job this week, according to the officials with Indianapolis-based Anthem.
Gianquinto was born in New Haven and grew up in Woodbridge and West Haven, according to company officials.
Anthem employs more than 1,500 people in Connecticut Gianquinto is returning to Connecticut after serving as president of Missouri Care, Anthem’s Medicaid business in Missouri since 2020.
Before that he held several roles in the insurance industry across Connecticut, including with UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans, where he led initiatives to improve quality, manage costs and increase affordability. Gianquinto worked for UnitedHealthcare and Oxford from 1995 through 2008.
Gianquinto graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of New Haven.
Brian Shipp, president of Anthem’s East Region Commercial Business, said Gianquinto’s appointment leading Anthem in Connecticut shows the insurer’s commitment to the state.
“Lou’s in depth knowledge of the insurance industry and strong foundation in the Connecticut market will greatly benefit customers, providers and the people we collectively serve,” Shipp said in a statement.
For his part, Gianquinto said it’s a privilege to “return to my home state of Connecticut and have the opportunity to lead the Anthem team here, which has such deep roots in the community.”
“I look forward to nurturing our relationships across the state and inspiring our team’s pursuit to simplify healthcare and improve lives for our more than one million members and the communities where they live and work,” Gianquinto said in a statement. “In these unprecedented times, and over the longer term, we will keep working to deliver innovative solutions, advocate for greater affordability and improve the healthcare experience.”
David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University’s School of Business, said Anthem will benefit from Gianquinto’s knowledge of the Connecticut market.
“He’s worked elsewhere within the company, so he’s got a broad view of it’s operations and now he’s coming home,” Cadden said. “Ultimately, what matters to the company is his management skills management skills, but Connecticut can be a quirky state and it’s important for someone like that to know what impact his decisions have on the community.”
Joe Mirra, chairman of Wallingford’s Economic Development Commission said members of the business retention committee try to visit all the businesses in town twice a year. Mirra said it may not be possible for commission members and Mayor William Dickinson Jr. to meet with Gianquinto in person because of the pandemic, but he wants the company’s local executives “to know that we are here for them.”
Source: The Hour