Sellers clearing way for his successor: Retiring chief executive has led state’s largest insurer since 1992 [The State, Columbia, S.C.]

July 11--Ed Sellers says has been preparing to retire as chief executive of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina for two years, though that's hard to tell by looking in his office in Northeast Richland.

Stacks of reports -- dozens in binders, dozens more bound with large clips -- cover his credenza, desk and chairs. The "vertical open filing system," as he calls it, has been a staple of his career as he gathers information to lead the state's largest insurer and spearhead community service efforts.

By the end of the month, Sellers will need to find a new spot for his filing system when his replacement, David Pankau, becomes BlueCross' chief executive.

Sellers is pragmatic about leaving the job he's held since 1992. "No melancholy. I'm 65, it's time"

He said he's received an outpouring of good wishes and kind words from business and community leaders since announcing his retirement in May: "It's gratifying to know that what we try to do has not gone unnoticed."

Sellers leaves having added nearly 8,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual revenue as well as a concrete reputation for community involvement. The company is big enough to have its own ZIP code.

But Sellers also leaves some unfinished business -- including completing a plan to deal with health care reform and winning appeals for government health contracts won by other companies.

"If you're paying attention, that list should be as long as your accomplishments."

'Being uncomfortable'

Sellers, a Kentucky native who graduated from Vanderbilt and Harvard, said he wanted BlueCross managers to never get complacent.

"Someone is always gaining on you," he said. "At my first meeting (with senior managers), I said to them, 'Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.' "

Sellers recognized this in himself.

"One of my strengths is that I know what I'm bad at," he added. "I'm not a good operating manager. I'm not naturally inclined to pay attention and fine tune the engine. Thank God, I have a lot of folks who do that."

He said Pankau, a 17-year BlueCross veteran, possesses those skills and will bring a different perspective to the job, Sellers said.

That's something that is critical to run any company successfully, not just an 11,000-employee BlueCross.

"Having people around you who are different is uncomfortable," Sellers said. But being surrounding by people with the same point of view slows innovation.

Another key to his success was having managers who were able to take responsibility so that he could "promote from within and stretch them." Managers were responsible developing plans to boost revenue. "That way you have more brain power."

'Adding value'

Sellers, who came to Columbia from the BlueCross in Chicago, said he had an advantage working for a private company that did not have to answer to the stock market.

"We don't have to have a high (profit) margin," he said, estimating it at 3 percent to 6 percent. "We could hang on for awhile and try to make things work."

BlueCross, which earns $3.8 billion in annual revenue, serves the insurance needs for more than one out of three South Carolinians and handles claims for more than 23 million beneficiaries in Medicare and the Department of Defense.

Sellers said he concentrated on managing costs, including those with doctors and hospitals: "We still fuss and fight over fees."

He also worked to improve coordinated care of chronic and long-term illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes, to reduce costly hospital admissions.

"The better you do it, you give better care and lower costs. It's a two-fer."

Because of its success, BlueCross could help in the community.

Sellers said his managers would encourage him to get the company involved with groups -- one touted the symphony, another Habitat for Humanity for instance -- as part of his emphasis on "adding value."

"It doesn't take these folks long to realize that when they get a senior BlueCross manager on board, magic happens."

Sellers himself serves on groups to bolster income for all South Carolinians and make the state more economically competitive.

'Step into his shoes'

BlueCross had a void to fill during Sellers' time in charge.

"Ten years ago, there were a lot of banks leaving South Carolina," Sellers said.

He knew the insurer would be among the state's largest employers -- and among its biggest contributors. So what's become the second-largest private employer in the Midlands started a foundation to help nursing education, offer free medical care and fight obesity.

Now, Pankau will have to oversee what happens next for BlueCross.

Pankau, a 46-year-old Illinois native, has risen quickly in recent years. He took over the No. 2 spot just last year.

"You have a guy trying to drink out of a fire hose," Sellers said. "He'll want everything to work, and it won't."

Pankau is about the same age as Sellers when he took over BlueCross.

"It'll be very interesting to step into his shoes," Pankau said in May. "Ed has put a good structure into the company. He set the stage."

Sellers, who will remain board chairman and split time between his homes in Columbia and Sullivan's Island, said he won't keep an office on the BlueCross campus.

But he knows what his old office will look like once Pankau moves in.

"He'll have a much cleaner desk."

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Copyright (c) 2010, The State, Columbia, S.C.

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