Norwood Davis, former CEO of health insurance giant Trigon, dies at 86

Norwood H. Davis Jr., who for two decades led the company that became the largest health insurer in Virginia, died Sunday. He was 86.

Davis, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, was chairman and CEO of Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, which later became Anthem and eventually Elevance Health.

Under his direction in the 1990s, Trigon held health insurance policies for one out of every four Virginia residents and employed more than 4,000 workers. He appreciated his employees, and they loved him back, said Marguerite Davis, his wife of 37 years.

"He had an amazing, charismatic personality and a great smile," Marguerite said. "He was a really talented leader and executive."

Following his career, he was a board member or trustee for numerous companies and philanthropic organizations.

Davis grew up in Richmond's North Side, often playing basketball at Hotchkiss Field. After graduating from John Marshall High School, he attended Hargrave Military Academy, where his roommate was Larry Brown, who later became a Hall of Fame basketball coach.

Davis applied to Hampden-Sydney College but wasn't initially accepted, Marguerite said. After Hargrave's basketball coach urged Hampden-Sydney's coach to take a chance on the young student, Davis earned a scholarship, played four years and graduated in 1963. Davis later earned a law degree at the University of Virginia, and Hampden-Sydney named him to its Hall of Fame.

Davis joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia in 1968 and rose to the position of CEO in 1981. Previously a nonprofit, the company became a mutual, in which the policyholders were its owners, in the early 1990s.

The company, which held policies for about 1.8 million people, changed its name to Trigon Mutual Blue Cross Blue Shield. Had it been publicly traded, Trigon would have been large enough to qualify for the Fortune 500 list.

In 1995, Trigon refunded $50 million to 500,000 customers after then-Attorney General Jim Gilmore accused the company of conducting "deceptive billing practices" that involved negotiating lower rates with hospitals but not passing on the discount to the customer. Davis later said the company was wrong for what it did, even though the practice was an industry standard.

Trigon went public two years later. The initial public offering brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, which the company used to upgrade its technology, improve its service and widen its networks, said Tom Snead, who succeeded Davis as CEO.

The conversion had a roughly $2 billion impact on the state, Davis later said, and represented the biggest effect Trigon had on Richmond.

"He was quite the visionary," said Snead, who became CEO after Davis retired in 1999.

Though it was a large company, it was tight-knit. Davis had a personal touch. He was known for sending letters to employees if a child won a scholarship or a family member died.

"Probably his best trait was figuring out how to get good people around him to execute the vision," Snead said. "We were all impacted by him and better folk and better business people by having served with him for a long time."

Davis served on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards, including the Medical College of Virginia Foundation, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and Virginia's U.S. Olympic committee.

He established a scholarship for students at Hampden-Sydney who, like himself, don't have the highest academic credentials but possess potential and aim to make a difference in society. Davis always believed in giving people opportunities, Marguerite said.

He worked with the American Heart Association to put defibrillators in public spaces and started a fundraiser for a sailing club in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

"He was involved in everything," Marguerite Davis said. "He was starting things left and right."

After he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he participated in a drug trial for Aduhelm, which became the first drug approved to treat Alzheimer's, though it was later discontinued. His participation in the trial, Marguerite Davis said, was emblematic of his penchant for leading the pack.

In 2010, when asked what advice he would give young people, he said they should live their lives with character and courage.

"My parents, by example, taught me to be respectful, compassionate and honest," he said at the time. "Over the years, you appreciate more and more those people of character and how much they mean to our community."

Davis is survived by his wife; two sons, Norwood "Trip" Davis III and Parker Davis; one daughter, Clay McKenna, and seven grandchildren. He was friends with Jim Ukrop, president of the well-known chain of grocery stores, who died two days earlier.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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