Humana is naming a healthcare outsider as its next chief innovation officer, just as executives are looking for breakthroughs from recent acquisitions.
The Louisville-based insurer announced that Christopher Kay, a managing director of Citi's investment arm, will take the role of chief innovation officer starting March 17, replacing Paul Kusserow, who left last summer after assuming the position following the departure of Raja Rajamannar in 2012.
An attorney who started his career in the debt and equity market, Kay has been working at Citi since 2007, most recently as head of the bank's corporate venture and incubation arm, Citi Ventures, whose portfolio includes several data analytics and internet security firms as well as the "next generation" mobile payment startup Square.
Before Citi, Kay spent 12 years in senior roles at the Target, including overseeing the retailer's largest merchandise segment -- healthcare.
Bringing a retail feel to healthcare will be among his priorities for Humana's innovation strategy, and specifically personalizing the company's products to "simplify the healthcare experience," said president and CEO Bruce Broussard.
"Chris is a keen innovator with a passion for creating new businesses in large organizations, and for launching products and services that enhance the consumer experience," Broussard said in a media release. "He brings a wealth of experience in consumer-facing industries to a pivotal role."
For his part, Kay said he feels "honored to join a leading-edge company that is dedicated to making healthcare easy for consumers while improving health outcomes."
The appointment comes after Humana closed a three-year-old innovation center at its headquarters, but as the insurer nonetheless is trying to transition to a health and well-being company, in part by tapping "existing and emerging adjacencies in healthcare," as described in a recent job post for an innovation strategy manager position.
Those adjacencies include a range of recently-acquired primary care, home care and technology companies: Metropolitan Health Networks, a medical services organization caring for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid beneficiaries primarily in Florida, American Eldercare, which has a managed long-term care contract in Florida, and Healthrageous, a patient engagement technology spun off by Partners HealthCare that's ripe for integration with Humana's Vitality program.
Humana is not the only insurer to bring in retail veterans. In a new role at Aetna, former Walmart healthcare solutions SVP Dijuana Lewis was recently named as executive VP for consumer products and enterprise marketing, tasked with "aligning consumer-focused businesses, products, services and capabilities."