Excellus appoints Reed as president and CEO

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield on Monday announced that it has appointed James Reed as CEO of the $6.2 billion health plan and its parent company, the Lifetime Healthcare Companies.

Reed has been serving as president and CEO-elect since July 2020 and succeeds Christopher Booth who retired Monday after leading the company since 2013, the health insurer said in a news release.

“Jim is strategic in his approach, has a strong sense of mission and brings a wide array of experience to the job,” Marianne Gaige, chairwoman of the company’s board of directors, said. “He has been a leader in this company for 25 years and has been instrumental in shaping the company’s future in today’s ever-changing health insurance industry.”

Rochester–based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is Central New York’s largest health insurer.

Reed, 50, joined Excellus in January 1996. Prior to serving as president and CEO-elect, his roles included executive VP of marketing and sales, and Central New York regional president.

Reed earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his master’s degree in business administration from Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

The Lifetime Healthcare family of companies includes its nonprofit health plan, with 1.5 million members in 39 New York counties and about 3,900 employees.

The health plan does business as Excellus BlueCross BlueShield across the Rochester region, Central and Northern New York, the Utica-Rome area, and the Southern Tier. It also operates as Univera Healthcare in eight counties surrounding the Buffalo area.

Related entities include the national long-term care insurance company, MedAmerica Inc., and the employee-benefits firm, Lifetime Benefit Solutions, Inc.