Cigna names Evanko president, COO in C-suite shake-up

Cigna is reshuffling its top leadership by promoting Brian Evanko to president and chief operating officer and elevating Ann Dennison to executive vice president and chief financial officer, the company announced Thursday.

Eric Palmer, president and CEO of the Evernorth Health Services subsidiary since 2020, will end his lengthy tenure at Cigna on April 26, the insurer said in a news release. Evanko has been executive vice president and chief financial officer of the parent company and president and CEO of its Cigna Healthcare insurance subsidiary since last January, and Dennison joined as deputy chief financial officer of Cigna at the same time. Their new appointments take effect March 31.

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Cigna CEO David Cordani said the executive reorganization will put Evanko in direct control of the health service subsidiary, which includes the pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, and its insurance operations. Cordani also presented at the Barclays 27th Annual Global Healthcare Conference in Miami on Thursday.

"These leadership changes create a sharpened structure to build upon our strengths for continued growth, enhance our customer focus and deliver even greater value for those we serve," Cordani said in the news release. "Aligning our Evernorth Health Services and Cigna Healthcare businesses under a single leader will accelerate innovation to enhance how we serve our stakeholders.”

Evernorth Health Services has been a key focus for Cigna over the past year. In addition to Express Scripts, the subsidiary houses the company's specialty pharmacy capabilities and direct care services. Cigna recently launched biosimilars for the high-cost medications Humira and Stelara and provided financial guarantees to employers and insurers covering glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists.

In addition to Evanko's and Dennison's promotions, Cigna Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Nicole Jones will take on the additional role of leading enterprise marketing.

At the Barclays event, Cordani affirmed that Cigna is on track to fully exit the Medicare business by the end of March with its divestiture to Health Care Service Corp., he said.

Cigna reaffirmed its $29.50 per share consolidated adjusted income from operations projections Thursday. The company reported a 3.9% increase in adjusted income from operations to $7.7 billion last year as revenue grew 26.6% to $247.1 billion. Cigna shares opened at $312.46 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, up less than a percentage point from the prior day's close.