Senior Vice President Dana Erickson has been promoted as President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) and its parent company, Stella, starting November 1, 2021. Kathleen Blatz, who has been serving as the organization’s interim CEO since April 2021, will hand over the reins to Erickson.
- Prior engagements: Erickson has been a member of the organization’s senior leadership team since 2019 when she was appointed as senior vice president and president of the Health Services division. In this role, Erickson has been responsible for the overall strategic planning, development, implementation, and administration of racial and health equity, care management, provider relations, pharmacy, and medical management.
- Leader: “Dana is an accomplished and impressive leader who knows the health care industry very well, both within Minnesota and across the nation,” said Michael Robinson, chair of the Board of Trustees for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “After a rigorous national search for our next CEO, we were thrilled to find the strongest candidates right here in Minnesota, with the right choice being inside our Blue Cross family.”
- Roles played: Erickson joined Blue Cross in 2015 as senior director of care management before being named as vice president of the same division the following year. She previously held clinical and medical leadership roles at Univita Health and Optum Health, where her tenure included serving as vice president of strategic accounts. Additionally, Erickson spent two years serving in Anoka County as a nursing leader, a role in which she oversaw home-based services for the senior and at-risk populations.
- Commitments: “I am both humbled and excited for the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company with exceptional, committed people,” said Erickson. “We are strongly positioned to advance our strategic priorities to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of our members, address inequities throughout the health care system and ensure that high-quality care and coverage are within reach for all.”
- Accomplishments: “Dana’s impressive accomplishments as a business leader are informed by hands-on experience in providing patient care,” said Robinson. “Dana uniquely understands the impact a health plan has on individual lives. She will be a staunch champion of our Blue Cross mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people we serve.”