Mary Brainerd, longtime CEO of HealthPartners, will retire from the integrated hospital and health plan system, effective June 1.
Brainerd will be succeeded by Andrea Walsh, an executive with HealthPartners since 1994. She is currently executive VP and chief marketing officer at the Bloomington, Minn.-based system.
Under Brainerd's leadership, HealthPartners grew by revenue and employees. The system is frequently touted as the nation's largest consumer-governed, not-for-profit integrated delivery network.
HealthPartners serves about 1.5 million medical and dental plan members. The network reported $5.6 billion in total revenue in 2015 and employs approximately 23,000 staffers, including 1,700 physicians.
Brainerd joined HealthPartners when it was formed in 1992 through the merger of Group Health and MedCenters Health Plan. She was promoted to CEO in 2002. During Brainerd's tenure, HealthPartners merged with Park Nicollet Health Services, a healthcare provider also based in Minnesota. The merger greatly expanded HealthPartners' footprint in the state.
Brainerd is also a founding CEO of the Itasca Project, a coalition of 40 government, civic and business leaders that works to drive economic growth in Minneapolis.
“I will miss that day-to-day connection, and I believe that our best days are yet to come,” Brainerd said in a news release. “Andrea is the right leader to guide our organization into the future. She has a proven track record both inside our organization and in our community for her ability to build partnerships.”
