Sources indicate First Health is set to announce they have hired a new executivefor their workers comp business. The new guy will be Robert Gelb, late of IntraCorp where he most recently led their sales and account management effort. This may mark the end of a seventeen-month long search for a leader for this highly profitable but somewhat troubled property, acquired by Coventry in January of 2005.
IntraCorp’s recent struggles have been well-documented, and I have commented at length on the challenges facing any new leader of First Health.
IntraCorp has recently lost a significant amount of business, with Sedgwick moving a big chunk of bill review to Concentra and ESIS doing the same. I’m not sure what Mr. Gelb’s role was in this process, but I’m guessing it came up during his interviews.
For Mr. Gelb’s new employer, the biggest question remains the present strategic position of First Health; the company is trapped in what Clayton Christianson calls the “Innovators’ Dilemma”. And its WC revenues have been flat over the past five quarters, in contrast to management’s projections for significant growth.
Placing a sales guy in charge of WC at First Health may makessense, as Coventry has been quite public about their desire to grow WC significantly. And the original compensation package, with a base in the $300k range plus bonus and equity, should have been enough to entice a strong leader. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Gelb is that person.
What does this mean for you?
Either not much or an awful lot.
Jun
6
