Healthways, a Franklin, Tenn.-based wellness program provider, has appointed Donato Tramuto, its current board chairman, as its new president and CEO, effective Nov. 1.
Tramuto, 58, will replace Ben Leedle, whose contract was terminated in May. Alfred Lumsdaine, the company's CFO and interim CEO, will continue in the CFO role.
Leedle's termination came less than two months after Healthways completed a strategic review and opted to retain its independence. The company, which creates wellness-improvement programs for employers and insurers, had been under pressure from its largest shareholder to consider a sale or other growth strategies following several quarters when it failed to meet earnings targets.
For the first quarter of 2015, it posted a net loss of $2.9 million on $189.9 million in revenue—but that was an improvement from a $9.6 million net loss on $176.8 million in revenue during the same period last year.
Tramuto is the founder and CEO of Physicians Interactive, a marketing firm that's now a subsidiary of Merck & Co. Before that, he served as president of Allscripts' physicians interactive division as well as CEO of i3, a clinical trials management firm that was then part of UnitedHealth Group.
Kevin Wills, a director on Healthways' board, will serve as the company's new chairman. Wills is the CFO at advisory firm AlixPartners and previously held the CFO role at Saks.
