Dr. Wyatt Decker, CEO of Optum Health, recently announced the organization of our Optum Health businesses into the East, West and South regions, and previewed the eventual organization of growth regions to further advance Optum Health’s patient-centered, comprehensive care model.
As you know, as part of Dr. Decker’s announcement, Caitlin Zulla was named as the CEO of the Optum Health East Region. As an integrated region under Caitlin’s leadership, we are well-positioned to accomplish amazing things.
As you may have already heard, as part of these changes, Peter Kelly is now CEO of the Mid-Atlantic region, which comprises eight states: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Peter reports to Wyatt directly.
Peter previously served as president of the Optum Care Network (OCN) and chief value officer with CareMount Medical in New York. Peter has led exceptional growth and development of Optum Tri-State’s risk business platform, expanding physician participation and increasing value-based contracts across multiple payers. Sammy Gershon will be joining Peter in the Mid-Atlantic region as VP of network development and growth. We wish Peter and Sammy well in their new roles. We know they will accomplish great things in the months and years ahead.
As part of our transition here at Optum Tri-State, I am delighted to announce some exciting updates and changes:
Alyssa Pepper will assume the role of leading the tri-state risk business as our chief value officer and president of Optum Care Network. In this role, Alyssa is responsible for the overall operational and financial performance of all risk and value-based programs, as well as risk-payer partnerships, value market operations and network contracting. During her time with Optum Health, Alyssa led the integration of value-based teams between New York and New Jersey and launched the first risk-bearing entity (RBE) within the region, setting up the foundation for growth and scalability. Garrett Fecteau has joined Alyssa’s team from UnitedHealthcare as VP, network development and growth, reporting to Alyssa.
Matt Kamen, chief strategy and analytics officer, will be expanding his current responsibilities, taking on the role of executive director for the Accountable Care Organization (REACH), which has national expansion opportunities. Matt will also take on key initiatives to drive strategy for scaling the risk business, working with local and national teams to improve the Optum Care Strategic Platform (OCSP), and assessing growth opportunities within tri-state and adjacent geographies. Both Alyssa and Matt will now report directly to me.
Regarding our growth team, I also want to share that Lisa Wielgomas, VP, business development, will continue in her critical role and will report to Manu Kuppalli, chief financial officer for tri-state.
Crystal Run’s chief quality officer, Dr. Scott Hines, will be taking on the additional responsibility as chief quality officer for tri-state, reporting to Dr. Rich Morel. Jessica Klarl, VP, quality and physician enablement, who is responsible for quality performance for the OCN entities and value-based contracts for employed providers, will now be reporting to Dr. Scott Hines.
We are also tackling some significant transformation initiatives here at the tri-state. I am happy to report that Dr. Lewis Kohl is taking on the role of digital transformation officer. He will continue to oversee CMIO efforts, and in addition, we will work closely with Rodney Plante in ensuring our EHR transition and patient-facing technology. In addition, Sarah Vario will lead our real estate and footprint transformation for the region in her role as VP, business transformation in addition to her role as chief of staff.
I’m excited about these changes and confident that this leadership team, in their new capacity, will build upon the successful foundation here in tri-state.
Please join me in congratulating the team on their new roles, and wish them continued success.
Kevin J. Conroy
CEO, Optum Tri-State
