BRIEF: Optima Health CEO and president to retire; Anthem executive named as successor

Sept. 29--Optima Health president and CEO Michael Dudley will retire at the end of the year, and his successor will be an executive from a competing insurance company.

The Sentara-affiliated health insurance company made the announcement Friday in a news release, saying Anthem executive Dennis Matheis will succeed Dudley.

Dudley has been with Optima for 21 years. He announced his retirement to the company in 2016.

Matheis has been with Anthem for 13 years, most recently as president of Anthem's Central Region and Exchanges. He starts at Optima Nov. 1, and will work with Dudley in a transitional period until the end of the year.

At that time Dudley will take on a yearlong executive role within Sentara Healthcare. Matheis will then be president of Optima Health and senior corporate vice president of Sentara Healthcare.

Matheis has worked for a number of health plan companies, including Advocate Health Partners, Cigna, Humana and Health Partners of the Midwest.

___

(c)2017 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)

Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.