Anthem Hires John Gallina As EVP And CFO

Anthem Inc ANTM disclosed that it hired John Gallina as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective June 1. According to the company, Gallina would succeed Wayne DeVeydt, who served more than a decade of service in the company. That included nine years in the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer role. He has now decided to step down from the position effective May 31 citing family commitments and philanthropic work.

The company's Chairman, President and CEO, Joseph Swedish, commented, "Throughout his tenure at Anthem, Wayne DeVeydt has committed his considerable talents to serve our company. Wayne has been a valued member of our executive team and has played an important role during a period of dynamic change in our industry. Wayne informed me earlier this year that he was considering stepping down at some point in 2016 in order to spend more time with his family and to focus on charitable causes which have become increasingly important to him."

He continued, "Given the progress we have made with regard to the regulatory review of our Cigna acquisition and the work underway to identify the new leadership team for the combined company, Wayne felt that it would be best to step down from his role at this point. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Wayne for his service to our company. On a personal note, it has been a great pleasure to work with Wayne. I know I speak for all Anthem associates in thanking Wayne for his leadership, partnership and commitment, and wishing him and his family well as they begin this new chapter in their lives."

Swedish added, "We are pleased to name John Gallina as Anthem's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. John has been an instrumental member of our organization for many years. I have worked closely with John and I am confident that he has the expertise and readiness to take on this important responsibility as Chief Financial Officer for our company. John's long tenure and experience in our Finance organization, together with his broad recognition as a leader within our company, will be invaluable as he begins this new role."

Additionally, Anthem indicated it continued to expect net income to be greater than $9.65 per share for the year 2016. That included higher than $1.15 per share of net unfavorable items. Excluding these items, adjusted net income was still expected to be higher than $10.80 per share.

The stock closed higher by 0.67 percent on Tuesday.