Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Announces Appointment of Lead Director and Election of Three to Board of Directors

On May 11, 2018

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) announced that its Board of Directors has elected Laurence Downes, Dr. Michelle Gourdine, and Brian Kinkead to join the Board and that Board Member Todd Brown has been chosen as Lead Director. Brown has served on Horizon BCBSNJ’s Board since May of 2012 and is retired, having most recently served as Vice Chairman of ShoreBank Corporation. Previously, he was an Executive Vice President at Kraft Foods.

“Our members are fortunate to have such accomplished and respected leaders join Horizon’s Board of Directors,” said Kevin Conlin, Horizon BCBSNJ’s Chairman, CEO and President. “Horizon’s Board oversees the company’s strategies to deliver innovative health insurance products and solutions that improve quality, lower costs, and better the patient experience. The depth of knowledge and wealth of experience these new Directors bring will help us build on Horizon’s 85-year history of delivering excellent coverage that helps our members get the care they need and manage their health.”

Laurence Downes
Downes is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New Jersey Resources and its principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas. He joined New Jersey Resources in 1985, and has been CEO since July of 1995. Downes is a Director and past Chairman of the American Gas Association and the Natural Gas Council, as well as a Trustee of the American Gas Foundation. He is the Chair of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development’s National Advisory Board at Rutgers University and serves on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and on the ChooseNJ board. Downes is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Drumthwacket Foundation, which is responsible for the maintenance of the historic Governor’s mansion and official residence, located in Princeton. Downes earned an MBA in Financial Management and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Finance, both from Iona College.

Dr. Michelle Gourdine
Dr. Gourdine is the Senior Vice President, Population Health and Primary Care for the University of Maryland Medical System. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a Senior Associate in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the founder of Michelle Gourdine and Associates, LLC, an award-winning consulting firm dedicated to empowering people to make healthier choices, and the author of Reclaiming Our Health: A Guide to African American Wellness. Dr. Gourdine is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and did her residency in the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Brian Kinkead
Mr. Kinkead retired from the position of Vice Chairman in the Global Healthcare Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In that role, Mr. Kinkead led the healthcare sector consulting practices. Together with his prior experience as a Principal with Morgan Stanley, also providing consulting services in the healthcare sector, Mr. Kinkead has spent more than 30 years providing consulting services and major transactional support to a long list of significant organizations. Mr. Kinkead has a doctoral degree in Health Care Policy and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; a master’s degree in Political Science and Health Care Policy from the University of Leeds; and an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Essex.

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