DURHAM — Dr. Tunde Sotunde is a man with a vision, and he’s hoping to bring that to his new role as chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Sotunde, a physician and a former senior executive with health giant Anthem, recently replaced Patrick Conway who was forced to resign last October following his arrest and being charged with driving while impaired, reckless driving and two counts of misdemeanor child abuse in a June 22 incident on Interstate 85 in Randolph County.

“I’m honored to join Blue Cross NC. This is one of the premier health plans in the country and plays a leading role in addressing critical health issues,” said Dr. Sotunde at the time.  “I’ll bring the perspective of a physician, a patient and health plan leader to our work alongside our employees every day to help make health care better, simpler and more affordable. Our work is even more critical at this time as we, together, face the challenges presented by COVID-19. My family and I look forward to calling North Carolina home and serving its vibrant communities.”

A graduate of University of Ibadan College of Medicine in Nigeria (1988) and Howard University’s Hospital Residency Program in Pediatrics (1995). He completed his Executive MBA at the University of Memphis (2001) and studied health care management at the Wharton School of Business (2003), BCBS said in the announcement.

WRAL TechWire’s Chantal Allam recently had the chance to catch up with him during his first few weeks on the job. Here’s what he had to say:

  • Congratulations on the new position. What motivated you to leave your position as president at Anthem in ​​Atlanta to take up this new post at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina?

Thank you. I consider it a privilege to be leading North Carolina’s largest health insurer. Blue Cross NC has a strong reputation within the state and across the country for its innovation, culture and commitment – not only to its employees and members, but also the communities in which we serve. We have an undeniable footprint within North Carolina in transforming health care. The opportunity to work with and lead this team is a dream come true. My role, together with our talented team, is to take our efforts to transform health care to the next level. Making a positive difference for people every day energizes me. We have an incredible opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of North Carolinians here at Blue Cross NC and to be a model for the nation.

  • What are some of your first impressions of the Triangle, and the state of affairs at BCBS?

I love the Triangle! The area has clearly earned its place on lists of Best Places to Live. The situation with COVID-19 has delayed my family’s final move to the Triangle area, but we are looking forward to settling into our new home soon. In my travels to the state and interactions with its people, I have observed a growing community that cares about quality of life, embraces diversity, and has strong family values. These attributes are very important to me and my wife as we continue raising our children.

North Carolina is not without its challenges, but I am excited to use my experience as a physician working across private and public sectors to tackle some of the state’s most pressing health challenges and address underlying factors that affect the health of our communities. You can’t improve the health of a patient, individual or customer without improving the community in which they live and work. And while there’s always more work to do, the Triangle area, its health system and other infrastructure is leading on this front in many ways.

Blue Cross names Anthem health exec as new CEO

  • What are some of your goals for the first year?

Our immediate priority is working with our customers and communities to navigate the current pandemic, as you can imagine. It’s important that we ensure our workforce is able to deliver on the mission, vision and values of our organization, especially amidst the uncertainty we are all living in right now. In the first months, the Blue Cross NC team did a phenomenal job ensuring our workforce was still able to provide services to meet the needs of our consumers and be responsive to health care providers. We were quickly able to move about 98 percent of our workforce to work remotely.

This pandemic has been uncharted territory for all of us, but our teams acted very quickly. We were among the first in the nation to expand telehealth coverage and access, and to waive copay and out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 testing and treatment. We also took actions to extend premium payment grace periods, among other things. We will continue to respond to this crisis to best serve our members and support doctors, nurses and hospitals.

I am focused on ensuring equitable access and high-quality health care for all. I am meeting daily with a variety of customers and stakeholders in a virtual environment to better understand their needs and learn how Blue Cross NC can best serve them. These meetings will continue for some time and I look forward to connecting on a more personal level with all 5,000 of our employees over the next few months.

Over the longer term, accelerating the organization’s innovation agenda is at the top of the list. This means not only being laser focused on the consumer experience but also a deeper level of collaboration with doctors and hospitals than you typically see from an insurer – we have the potential to change the nature of the relationship. When doctors and insurers work better together, customers and patients benefit from a better overall experience. We must transform the health and well-being of our members and communities through efforts that improve quality of care, create a simpler experience, and make care more affordable.

  • You have an interesting background. You were born in Nigeria before attending boarding school in the UK and immigrating to the US in the 1990s. How has this informed your work in the US health care system?

My life experience is unique, and it has helped build a great appreciation for rural medicine and the need for better health care for all. When I think about the intersection of my experiences and identity, it has definitely impacted and shaped me. I can draw parallel comparisons to growing up in Nigeria and practicing medicine in Trinidad. The health care infrastructure is limited and access to care is fragmented. You’re forced to do more with less. These same experiences can even be seen in smaller towns and rural parts of the state. Public health and community health workers are often the only access to care outside of the nearest city. Depending on the population of the nearest city, health care facilities can be challenged with lack of personnel, supplies or equipment.

Practicing in Trinidad, we relied heavily on clinical diagnostic skills as opposed to lab tests, MRIs, CT scans, and other diagnostic tools that are readily available in the U.S. Health care professionals still practice this way in rural, underserved areas of North Carolina and other parts of the U.S.

  • There are just four black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. And it’s still rare to see African Americans in top leadership positions in big companies, like BCBS. What do you think your appointment means to the company and the region as a whole? And can you speak to racial inequality in the corporate world? What has been your experience?

Blue Cross NC has a deep history of embracing diversity and inclusion, as evident in its ranking as one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity. My appointment as the first African American CEO is just more evidence of this, and sends a strong message, internally and externally, that we are deeply rooted in fairness and equity for all, irrespective of race, color, ethnicity and other factors. The fact that less than 1 percent of America’s largest companies have appointed African American CEOs speaks for itself. It’s very telling that less than 10% of top corporate executives are African American. There is an obvious lack of diversity (race, ethnicity, gender, etc.) of C-suite executives sitting around America’s boardrooms. The U.S. is a melting pot of differences, and leadership teams across the country should represent this diversity. It’s proven time and again that companies that value diversity are better positioned to serve their clients and customers.

I have experienced unfair treatment and subtle or unconscious bias throughout my personal and professional life that may sound familiar to what many others have experienced. Professionally, I have been in situations where I have expressed an idea or opinion that was dismissed – only for a white colleague to share the same sentiment or idea and receive kudos. During introductory meetings with clients, they have automatically assumed that I was the direct report of a white colleague. In fact, I was the white colleague’s supervisor. This assumption is not a rare occurrence. One of the most egregious, overt acts came early on in my career. One of my former CEOs shared that he was extremely skeptical about hiring “someone like me” despite my reputation and credentials. I’ve always known that the deck was not necessarily stacked in my favor and I have chosen to take on risky, challenging roles with resiliency in order to prove myself, and this mindset has benefitted me personally and professionally.

It’s been a turbulent time with the pandemic and many people losing their jobs and their health coverage. What would you like to see happen with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health insurance coverage for Americans going forward?

Everyone should have access to health insurance, and the ACA is playing an important role in helping people maintain health coverage during the pandemic. Many people have lost their jobs, and as a result lost their employer-sponsored coverage. That is what the ACA calls a “qualifying life event,” so that someone can enroll in an ACA plan through the marketplace, even though we’re not in the open enrollment period. And subsidies are available to help pay premiums for many, with close to 90 percent of Blue Cross NC ACA members receiving a subsidy through the ACA.

I feel comfortable with the ACA marketplace as it stands today. There were challenges in the early years with this market and several competitors left the state. I wasn’t at the organization at the time, but Blue Cross NC was the last one standing when other insurers exited the health insurance market. Going back to our mission as a not-for-profit North Carolina company, we felt it was important to remain in the marketplace despite deep financial losses. The company believed it was the right thing to do and today we are the only company offering plans in all 100 counties.

It’s never a good idea to speculate about what will happen in Washington. But I will say that the ACA has stabilized and is providing coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. We should work to improve the law in the areas where we can.

Blue Cross NC insures and protects many members for their entire lives. We support multiple generations of families and it’s important that we offer products and services that meet their individual needs. We’ll continue to put our focus on ways to ensure quality, affordable access to health care for all.