Excellus appoints Rigas as general counsel, senior VP

DeWITT, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has appointed Brenda Rigas as its general counsel and senior VP.

Rigas has been the primary legal support for compliance and regulatory affairs at the health insurer over the past 14 years. She has managed the organization’s response to “various high-profile matters,” Excellus said. 

“Brenda has been managing the legal team for two years and has worked to better align the team’s resources with our business needs,” Jim Reed, president and CEO of Excellus, said in a news release. “She has developed trusted, collaborative relationships across the organization and with key outside counsels and regulators — we are proud to announce this appointment and have Brenda on our team.”

In her new role, Rigas is chief legal officer and advisor at Excellus, managing the full range of legal services and matters for all corporate operations and activities. 

Prior to joining Excellus in 2007, Rigas worked as counsel to the chair of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, where she participated in regulatory and administrative-reform initiatives. Following eight years with New York State, Rigas provided consulting services to large, self-funded employers on workers’-compensation compliance and management. 

A graduate of Ithaca College, Rigas earned her law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law. She serves on the board of directors for a local, nonprofit skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility and is active in the Marietta and Marcellus communities, where she resides with her husband and two daughters, Excellus said.