UnitedHealth Group is promoting former GlaxoSmithKline leader Sir Andrew Witty to become the health insurance provider’s next CEO immediately.
The company said Thursday that current CEO David Wichmann will retire, more than three years after being promoted from chief financial officer.
The 56-year-old Witty had served as president of UnitedHealth’s Optum segment and then became president of the parent company in November 2019.
Before that, he ran the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline for several years. Witty took a leave of absence last spring to help lead a World Health Organization push to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development.