Incoming UnitedHealth CFO steps down from Centene’s board

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Dive Brief:

-- Wayne DeVeydt is departing Centene’s board after being appointed the new chief financial officer for UnitedHealth, likely to prevent a conflict of interest as the two companies compete in a number of health insurance markets.
-- Veydt’s new contract prevents him from participating in any activity that competes with UnitedHealth, according to documents filed with the SEC. Such clauses are standard in senior executive contracts.
-- Centene, which disclosed the move on Monday, said it will reduce the number of directors on its board to 10 instead of replacing DeVeydt.
Dive Insight:

DeVeydt notified Centene of his resignation on Aug. 1, one day after UnitedHealth announced the executive would be joining the healthcare behemoth as its new CFO.

DeVeydt’s new contract with UnitedHealth includes a base salary of $1 million plus various lucrative bonuses and stock awards that will significantly hike the executive’s take-home pay. For example, former CFO John Rex, who has served as UnitedHealth’s finance head for almost one decade, brought in $18.7 million in 2024, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement.

In return, along with his CFO duties DeVeydt has agreed not to “engage in or participate in any activity that competes, directly or indirectly, with any UnitedHealth Group activity, product or service,” according to his employment agreement. DeVeydt will officially start as UnitedHealth’s CFO in early September.

“We’re happy for Wayne and grateful for all he contributed to Centene. He’s had an impressive career thus far, and we wish him continued success in this next chapter,” a Centene spokesperson told Healthcare Dive.

Along with serving on Centene’s board, DeVeydt was previously the managing director of Bain Capital and held leadership roles at Surgery Partners and Elevance Health, formerly known as Anthem. As such, the executive has experience in both healthcare delivery and insurance — two key business lines for UnitedHealth, which has steadily expanded its network of medical centers and is the largest private insurer in the U.S., covering almost 50 million medical members.

Still, DeVeydt is joining UnitedHealth at a difficult time. The Minnesota-based company has struggled amid rising consumer mistrust, acute regulatory scrutiny of its business practices and a tidal wave of medical costs, which led UnitedHealth to lower profit forecasts for 2025.

UnitedHealth has made extensive management changes in an attempt to right the ship. Since May, the company has replaced its CEO and reshuffled leadership in its Optum health services division, dedicated care delivery unit and government insurance business. Still, Wall Street has punished UnitedHealth for its missteps. The company’s stock is down more than 50% year to date.