SCHENECTADY — MVP Health Care filled the shoes of its retiring president and CEO, David Oliker, with its president of operations.
The Schenectady–based health insurer’s board named Denise Gonick as the new president and CEO. The move comes after Gonick was promoted to president of operations this summer when Oliker announced his intention to retire.
As president of operations, Gonick took over responsibility for all of MVP’s transition efforts and daily management. Before assuming that role, she served as the nonprofit insurer’s executive vice president of administrative services and chief legal officer.
“After an extensive national search, I am pleased to announce that the best candidate to lead MVP Health Care is already with the company,” said Karen Johnson, who led the MVP board of directors’ search for Oliker’s replacement, in a news release. “Denise Gonick fits the profile of the experienced, strategic health-care leader we have been seeking to take MVP into the future.”
Gonick first joined MVP in 1995, working for the insurer’s legal department. She moved there after working in Empire BlueCross BlueShield’s legal department.
Her priorities as president and CEO include readying MVP for New York’s upcoming state-run health-insurance exchange and bulking up its customer service, according to the insurer.
“I appreciate the board’s confidence in me and am delighted to now lead the company where I have grown my career,” Gonick said. “MVP has both challenges and great opportunities ahead.”
Oliker plans to support the transition until he retires, according to MVP. The insurer did not provide a specific retirement date, but Oliker told its board in July that he plans to step away in early 2013.
MVP offers health-benefit plans, dental insurance, and ancillary products to over 650,000 members in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. The insurer is the eighth largest in Central New York with 41,000 members in the region, according to the 2012 Book of Lists.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com