Longtime Cambia Health Solutions CEO Mark Ganz plans to retire at the end of the year, it was announced this week.
Jared Short, currently president and chief operating officer, will assume the role of CEO effective Jan. 1.
"Leading Cambia over the last 18 years has been both the greatest honor and challenge of my life," Ganz said in a statement. "From day one, we set out to build an inclusive and empathetic health system that respects and serves individuals and families in all their uniqueness and diversity. This required each of our nearly 5,000 employees to act with courage and hope while innovating beyond the comfort zone of the status quo. It shows in the ways we serve people and our communities each day."
Ganz is leaving the Portland, Oregon-based health plan company after 18 years during which he guided the company to expand into what it called a "total health solutions company."
During Ganz's tenure, Cambia's health plans grew to cover 3.2 million members and expanded its reach into other areas of business, launching Echo Heath Ventures, a strategic collaboration between Cambia and Mosaic Health Solutions to invest in healthcare solutions. Most recently, the company launched Journi, a digital health platform aimed at helping employees take full advantage of employer benefits.
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Ganz, notably, also focused on changing the national conversation around palliative care.
Short, 43, joined Cambia in 1999. He left to become chief marketing officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Montana before returning to Cambia as market president for Regence BCBS of Oregon.
Short was promoted to COO in 2015 and president and COO in October 2019.
"I'm deeply grateful for Mark's servant leadership, supportive mentorship and dedicated friendship over the years," Short said. "We will build on the values-centered foundation he created as we move forward as a company—imagining, innovating and focused on the needs of the people and families we serve, now and into the future."