Jan. 24 (UPI) — UnitedHealthcare named a new CEO after the December shooting death of former CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.
Tim Noel is the firm’s new top executive, Minnesota-based health insurance company’s confirmed in an email to CNN earlier in the week.
Thompson was killed in a targeted shooting outside his midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.
Police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s days later and prosecutors have charged him with first-degree murder. He was carrying a gun similar to the one used in the shooting and fake ID at the time.
Authorities have speculated Mangione, who is now also facing federal charges, may have targeted Thompson for reasons related to the insurer’s profitability.
Noel first joined UnitedHealthcare in 2007 as an executive.
Founded in 1998, the firm is the largest private health insurance company in the United States. Parent company UnitedHealth Group is the country’s largest healthcare company in terms of revenue.
Noel most recently was in charge of the company’s retirement and Medicare interests.
“[Noel] brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners,” UnitedHealth Group said in a statement to NBC.
Last April, UnitedHealth Group confirmed it paid an undisclosed ransom amount to protect the personal data of patients of one of its subsidiaries.
Despite the payment, the information of several of its Change Healthcare patients was compromised in the cyberattack.
