UnitedHealthcare pushes new CEO following Brian Thompson's fatal shooting

UnitedHealth Group has named Tim Noel as CEO of UnitedHealthcare, taking over from Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot recently.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. promoted the head of its Medicare health plan business to lead the company’s broader insurance division, filling the job previously held by slain executive Brian Thompson.

(Image for rep) Tim Noel, with a strong background in Medicare, will lead the company’s top revenue-generating segment, which accounted for nearly half of total sales last year. UnitedHealth Group/Handout via REUTERS(via REUTERS)

Tim Noel, who was most recently chief executive of UnitedHealth’s Medicare division, will become CEO of the UnitedHealthcare business, the company said in an emailed statement.

Thompson was fatally shot in New York outside the company’s investor conference last month. The killing set off a dayslong manhunt and raised security concerns across the business world. The outcry about health insurance practices that followed the shooting boosted scrutiny on UnitedHealth and its rivals.

Noel will take over the company’s largest segment by revenue, with sales of $298 billion and operating profit of $15.6 billion in 2024.

UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare unit leads revenue with Noel at the helm

The Medicare unit is the biggest by revenue of UnitedHealthcare’s three major insurance business lines, accounting for almost half of the total last year. UnitedHealth is the largest seller of private Medicare Advantage plans, which cover more than half of Americans on the federal program for seniors and people with disabilities. It’s been a crucial driver of industry growth, though stricter federal payment policies have squeezed insurers’ profits in recent years.

Noel joined the company in 2007 and has led the Medicare business since 2021, according to a memo announcing the promotion from UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty viewed by Bloomberg News. He held a series of finance and operational jobs to “become one of the foremost experts on the intricacies and complexities of America’s health care system,” Witty wrote.

He praised Noel’s leadership qualities as the company “navigated seismic changes in the policy environment and pressure on our business these past two years.”