John Uribe promoted to Chief Financial Officer; Carey Smith returns as Chief Operating Officer   

EAGAN, Minn., June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) today announced the appointments of two executives to its senior leadership team. John Uribe, who has served as the company's vice president of business development for the past decade, has been promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer. Additionally, information technology executive Carey Smith is returning to Blue Cross as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Both positions report directly to Dana Erickson, company president and CEO. 

"John and Carey are great additions to our executive leadership team," said Erickson. "Both were ideal candidates, given their respective experience in delivering measurable results and having strong familiarity in working within the Blues' systems. Their strengths are directly applicable to the priorities of our business strategy, which remains centered on delivering the best value and experiences for our members."

John Uribe, Chief Financial Officer

As senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross), Uribe will oversee a division of approximately 300 people, comprising teams across financial planning, tax, treasury, investments, corporate finance, actuarial, underwriting and health economics.

Prior to joining Blue Cross in 2012, Uribe was CFO for the Home Service division of Schwan's Company in Marshall, Minnesota. Notable achievements highlighting Uribe's career expertise in business development and financial stewardship include leading major transactions at General Electric's commercial finance division and serving as chief financial officer at RedBrick Health, a private equity backed healthcare technology company. Additionally, Uribe held multiple leadership roles at General Mills, where he helped lead the company's $10.5 billion acquisition of Pillsbury, led multiple international transactions, and oversaw the financial function of a high-profile joint venture with DuPont.

 Uribe received his bachelor's degree and MBA from Indiana University.

Carey Smith, Chief Operating Officer

As senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO), Carey Smith has responsibility for all health plan operations, including customer service; claims processing; information technology; data and analytics; performance measurement; vendor management; and consumer experience. Approximately 2,800 associates work for the areas reporting up to Smith. He will join the company's leadership team on June 20.

Smith's 30-year career is rooted in the development, implementation and advancement of business technology and operations. In addition to leadership roles at The St. Paul Companies and Ameriprise, Smith was an information technology executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota from 2012 to 2017. During this time, Smith developed a transformation strategy to deliver more modernized and proficient IT delivery capabilities. For the next three years, Smith was an SVP and CIO for Constellation Inc., a medical professional liability insurance carrier. In 2020, TwinCitiesCIO – a regional leadership network of chief information officers – named Carey as a CIO of the Year finalist in its annual ORBIE awards.

Smith was most recently in a senior leadership role at Orchard Insurance, a Florida-based specialty property and casualty insurer with more than 10,000 appointed agents throughout the country.

Smith holds a bachelor's degree in information technology and psychology from Montana State University Billings.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

For nearly 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. Our 2.7 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota