Hartford Business Journal

24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 David Cordani D avid Cordani is perhaps one of the most influen- tial leaders in the health insurance industry, and he's led Bloomfield-based Cigna Corp. as CEO since 2009. Cordani has been an outspoken proponent of private insurance being the best way to make affordable healthcare coverage more widely available in the U.S. He's also been in the middle of some signif- icant M&A deals, including one that didn't work out. Last December, Cigna aban- doned plans to acquire its rival Humana, after the two compa- nies failed to agree on the price and other terms. Then, a month later, Cigna announced this past January that it agreed to sell its Medicare Advan- tage business to Health Care Service Corp., in a deal valued at $3.7 billion. Cigna, and its partner Oscar Health, this year also announced plans to withdraw from Connecticut's small group fully insured health insurance market. Cordani oversees thousands of employees in Connecticut, and he's been an advocate of getting them back to the office. He sent a companywide email last year outlining plans to require more employees to work in the office the majority of time. Cordani has been Cigna's president since 2008, CEO since 2009 and was named board chair in 2022, giving him considerable power within the organization. He also serves as an executive committee member of America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's largest trade group, and previously was appointed and served as board chair. Cordani earned his MBA at the University of Hartford. Deidre Gifford E ven though she remains atop the state Office of Health Strategy (OHS), Dr. Deidre Gifford is no longer its executive director. Earlier this year, the state General Assembly approved changing her title. She's now commissioner of OHS. While her title changed, the stresses of the job remain. OHS over- sees healthcare-related expansions, contractions and mergers in the state. That includes Yale New Haven Health's still-pending proposal to acquire Manchester Memorial, Rock- ville General and Waterbury hospitals, which is now embroiled in lawsuits. OHS also still draws criticism. During this year's short legislative session, leaders on both sides of the aisle blamed the agency and Gifford for the failure to pass changes to the agency's Certificate of Need program. They vowed to try again next year. On a more positive note, OHS and the state Department of Social Services (DSS) were selected this year by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to participate in a new, voluntary state "total cost of care" model. The model focuses on improving population health, advancing health equity and curbing the growth of healthcare costs. Connecticut was one of just three states chosen to start the program. In addition to leading OHS since January 2023, Gifford also serves as a senior advisor to Gov. Ned Lamont on health and human services issues. In that role, she is responsible for leading and coordi- nating efforts between agencies and working closely with the state Office of Policy and Management, while providing Lamont with recommen- dations on a variety of health- and social-related issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gifford was a member of Lamont's team in planning and implementing the state's response to the public health emergency. In May 2020, as the pandemic was worsening, Lamont appointed Gifford to lead the Department of Public Health as acting commissioner. She had previously led DSS between June 2019 and January 2023. Gina Calder F or Hartford HealthCare, Gina L. Calder is a first. A former hospital president in Missouri, Calder in March was named president of HHC's central region, effective Sept. 1. Her appointment makes her HHC's first Black woman regional president. HHC's central region includes MidState Medical Center in Meriden and The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain Calder previ- ously served as president of Barnes-Jewish St. Peter's Hospital and Progress West Hospital, both in Missouri and members of the BJC Health System that serves Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. With Hartford HealthCare, she succeeded former central region President Gary Havican. Calder is a graduate of Yale University, where she earned three degrees — a bachelor's in psychology, a Master of Public Health in health policy and administration, and an MBA. She then completed both her administrative residency and a fellowship with Yale New Haven Health system and worked there for 14 years. That included 12 years at Bridgeport Hospital, where she held various leadership roles, including vice president of ambulatory services and administrator of the hospital's Milford campus. During her career, Calder has led efforts in quality improvement, financial management, clinical operations, ambulatory strategy, patient and colleague experience, and business development. Saud Anwar S aud Anwar is quite familiar with leading. He's a medical doctor, specializing in lung diseases and critical care medicine, and he chairs the Department of Internal Medicine for Manchester Memorial and Rock- ville General hospitals, which are part of the Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN). He's a former mayor, having served South Windsor in that role twice, from 2013-15, and again from 2017-19. He now serves as a state senator representing South Windsor, East Hartford, East Windsor and Ellington. He also co-chairs the legislature's Public Health Committee. Anwar is seeking reelection to the state Senate this year. Earlier this year, he joined a group of lawmakers and ECHN medical staff to press for Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns the two ECHN hospitals and Waterbury Hospital, to complete the sale of the three hospitals to Yale New Haven Health. That deal is now held up by lawsuits filed on both sides over the financial terms. Anwar has said that the three POWER 25 | Healthcare www.easternct.edu/visit FALL OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Spend the day exploring our vibrant campus, chatting with passionate faculty, and discovering the perfect program for your future. From cutting-edge facilities to a welcoming community, Eastern has it all.

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