UnitedHealth Group Shakes Up Management, Taps New Optum CEO

United Health Group Tuesday elevated Dr. Patrick Conway to become the chief executive officer of Optum, one of the nation’s largest providers of medical care.

Conway, who is currently chief executive of Optum Rx, the company’s pharmacy benefit management company, will become Optum chief executive officer effective May 6. Conway will replace Heather Cianfrocco, who has been named UnitedHealth Group’s executive vice president of Governance, Compliance and Information Security. Cianfracco replaces Rubert Bondy who is retiring.

UnitedHealth Group, which owns the nation’s largest health insurance company in UnitedHealthcare, is also a nationwide provider of medical care services under the Optum umbrella, which includes Optum Rx, Optum Health and its various outpatient clinics, centers and doctor practices as well as other healthcare services.

UnitedHealth Group generates more than $400 billion in annual revenue and Optum is the bulk of that. Last year, Optum full year revenues grew 26% to $253 billion year over year thanks to its Optum Health medical care provider business and OptumRx, the company’s pharmacy benefit management unit.

The announcement of a new executive at Optum comes after a rare miss of Wall Street’s earnings projections when UnitedHealth earlier this month said 2025 earnings would be lower than expected due to rising costs of caring for seniors in its Medicare plans.

UnitedHealth lowered its “2025 performance outlook established in December 2024 to net earnings of $24.65 to $25.15 per share and adjusted earnings of $26 to $26.50 per share.” That compares to a forecast affirmed in January that said net earnings would be “$28.15 to $28.65 per share.”

UnitedHealth’s share price took a major hit after disclosing the lowered guidance even though the company’s health insurance plans and Optum businesses are growing with the company reporting more than $6 billion in first quarter profits.

In picking Conway as Optum’s chief executive officer, UnitedHealth Group chief executive Andrew Witty has chosen an executive with a mix of both private sector and government experience. Before joining UnitedHealth and Optum, Conway was President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality and Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Cianfrocco, meanwhile, will use her mix of talents as both an attorney and head of several UnitedHealth businesses in her new role.

“Heather’s deep knowledge of our business from her experience in senior leadership roles across UnitedHealthcare and Optum, coupled with a decade working as a lawyer, will continue the company’s commitment to strong governance and ethical oversight of our operations,” UnitedHealth group said in a statement.