Eric Palmer will step into the CEO chair at Evernorth, Cigna announced Thursday morning.
Palmer's promotion was among a slew of executive moves that the insurer unveiled, which it says are designed to "accelerate growth" across the enterprise. Palmer was appointed as chief operating officer at Evernorth in January following a stint as Cigna's chief financial officer.
Tim Wentworth, Evernorth's current CEO, will retire by the end of the year, Cigna said. Wentworth joined Cigna in the Express Scripts acquisition, as the pharmacy benefit manager's CEO.
Matt Manders, president of government and solutions and Steve Miller, M.D., chief clinical officer at Cigna, also joined the company as part of the acquisition, and will both retire by the end of 2021 alongside Wentworth.
"As we look ahead to our next chapter, I'd like to recognize Tim, Matt, and Steve for their visionary leadership. Three years ago, they each agreed to play a critical role leading our enterprise through the Cigna-Express Scripts combination," Cigna CEO David Cordani said in a statement. "With the successful completion of our integration over one year ago, the launch of Evernorth, and the significant growth of Evernorth and our U.S. Government businesses, they are transitioning to our next generation of enterprise leaders."
"I'm proud of the work we've accomplished together and am deeply grateful for their partnership and friendship," Cordani said.
In addition, Cigna has named longtime executive Paul Sanford as its executive vice president and chief operating officer. Noelle Eder, the insurer's executive vice president and global chief information officer, will take on an expanded role, overseeing global data analytics and automation work.
Everett Neville, executive vice president of strategy, corporate development and solutions at Cigna, will also take on an expanded role, the insurer said. He will work to unite enterprise strategy and solutions to drive greater value at both Cigna and Evernorth.
"The strength of our leadership team positions us well for our next phase of growth," Cordani said. "Our focus continues to be on aligning talent, expertise, and capabilities around our businesses and taking deliberate actions to strengthen our enterprise and deliver value to those we serve."