Kathy Swenson Named Senior Vice President, Individual, Small Group, & Government Business Unit at Blue Shield of California

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California announced today the appointment of Kathy Swenson as senior vice president for the Individual, Small Group, & Government Business Unit (ISGBU). Kathy will be responsible for leadership of the teams responsible for our Individual, Small Group, and Government businesses.

"Kathy has done an excellent job serving as interim SVP of ISGBU since May, and we are delighted that she has agreed to come on board full time," said Paul Markovich, executive vice president, chief operating officer.

With more than twenty-five years of health care experience, Kathy recently served as a development officer for Mayo Clinic, responsible for acquiring philanthropic gifts to fund research, education and practice. She was also the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and president at Kaiser Life Insurance Company. At KFHP she led Marketing, Sales, National and Large Account Management, Product Management, Strategy, Public Affairs, Reputation Management, and Internal Communications. Prior to that, she was a seventeen year veteran at Prudential Insurance Company where she held several positions including President of Prudential Healthcare's Western Region.

Kathy received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota, and is a Chartered Life Underwriter. She is also a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business Executive Development Certification Programs in Finance and Accounting and Marketing.

About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health plan with 3.3 million members, 4,800 employees, and one of the largest provider networks in California. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blue Shield of California offers a wide range of commercial and government products throughout the state. The company has contributed more than $125 million over the past four years to the Blue Shield of California Foundation — which was named one of BusinessWeek's 20 most generous corporate foundations. Contact your local agent or broker for more information about Blue Shield products and services, or visit the Blue Shield website at www.blueshieldca.com.

Contact:
Angenette Lau
Corporate Communications
(415) 229-5150
[email protected]

SOURCE Blue Shield of California