UnitedHealth Group Picks Successor to Slain CEO Thompson

UnitedHealth Group has named the head of its Medicare business as the CEO of its insurance business, succeeding the Brian Thompson, who was shot and killed on Dec. 4 in New York City while walking to attend the company’s annual investor conference.

Tim Noel has been with the company since 2007. A company statement issued today that was quoted by numerous news sources said Noel “brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners.”

Noel will be CEO of UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealth Group also includes Optum, a health services business that includes UnitedHealth's pharmacy benefit manager, Optum Rx. The company had just over $400 billion in revenues last year.

Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate who grew up in Baltimore, has been charged with murdering Thompson.

Part of the public reaction to Thompson’s killing and Mangione’s arrest was a wave of negative opinions about health insurance and the health insurance companies, much of it expressed on social media.