Highmark board to pick interim CEO; Melani on leave after charges [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

March 29--Board directors at health insurer Highmark Inc. will meet at 5:30 p.m. to pick an interim replacement for CEO Dr. Kenneth R. Melani, the chairman of the board told the Tribune-Review.

Melani, 58, of O'Hara was arraigned this morning before District Judge Jeffrey Herbst in Monroeville on charges of simple assault and defiant trespass related to a fight Sunday with his mistress's husband.

Robert Del Greco Jr., Melani's attorney, said, "As I learn more, I'm becoming increasingly more optimistic that a favorable outcome can be reached."

Melani, who has been CEO since January 2003, was placed on an unpaid leave of absence this morning.

"The situation related to Dr. Melani is a personal matter and he is currently taking an unpaid leave of absence from the company," company spokesman Michael Weinstein said in an emailed statement. "Highmark's board of directors and senior leadership team remain committed to our mission, business strategies and the communities we serve, and the company continues to move forward with day-to-day operations."

The events on Sunday prompted board directors to hold an emergency meeting at noon.

"We have to explore what we need to do," said Robert Baum, a University of Maryland professor who has been Highmark's chairman since 2005. "We're all just learning what happened."

Asked if Melani was permanently out as CEO, Baum said, "Not at all."

Baum said he and other Highmark leaders were personally surprised and shocked to learn about the incident yesterday afternoon but they are confident the insurer will be able to move forward, including plans to acquire West Penn Allegheny Health System.

"We love Ken and he's a great strategy guy," Baum said. "I feel pretty confident about our strategy. We all believe in it."

Baum declined to say who is being considered to fill the interim CEO role. Several executives have provided guidance to the board in the last 24 hours, including Deborah Rice, senior vice president of health services, and Tom VanKirk, chief legal counsel.

Oakmont police charged Melani after an incident at Mark Myler's home on Canterbury Court on Sunday.

Two officers responded to a 911 call about a fight at about 3 p.m., according to an affidavit filed to support the charges. The officers found Melani -- who is married -- and Myler outside engaged in a verbal argument, although each had facial swelling and minor bleeding, the affidavit states.

Mark Myler's wife, Melissa Myler, told police Melani hired her to work for Highmark in October, and shortly thereafter they began having an affair. In January, she moved into Melani's home, the affidavit said.

She told police she later discovered Melani had hired a private investigator to look into her life, which sparked an argument with Melani. Their relationship became common knowledge at Highmark, and she hired an attorney to help her leave the company, the affidavit states.

On Sunday, she went to her husband's home to tell him about the situation, she told police. Melani showed up, knocked on the door and walked in without being invited, the affidavit said. He accused Melissa Myler of cheating on him and only wanting him for his money while ignoring at least four requests from Mark Myler to leave the home, she told police.

Mark Myler physically removed Melani from the house, and a fight broke out, the affidavit said. Melani told police Mark Myler hit him first. Mark Myler's account of events was similar to his wife's, but he couldn't remember who swung first, the affidavit said.

Melissa Myler told police she wasn't ending her relationship with Melani and did not intend to reconcile with her husband, the affidavit said.

Melani initially refused medical attention, then later asked for an ambulance, the affidavit said. His wife, sister and a friend arrived on the scene, and police told them to leave with Melani's car, the affidavit said.

During a followup interview on Tuesday, Mark Myler told police he received leg injuries in addition to facial injuries during the fight, and that Melani had made threats toward Melissa Myler prior to the fight, the affidavit said.

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