Furst Group Recruits Chief People Officer for Medica
January 13, 2023 – Executive recruitment firm Furst Group, which serves the healthcare and insurance industries, recently assisted in the placement of Missy Durant as chief people officer of Medica in Minnetonka, MN. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Missy join Medica,” said John Naylor, president and CEO of Medica. “In addition to bringing strong human resources leadership to our team, she has a passion for ensuring we have a diverse, inclusive, and engaging environment that supports our mission to be the trusted health plan of choice for all of our stakeholders, including employees.”
Ms. Durant has worked as a leader in a number of large companies across various industries including retail, healthcare, and in both for profit and non-profit entities. “Her experiences give her the ability to bring strong strategic insight and an approach that allows her to coach, consult and lead collaboratively across the organization,” Medica said.
In her role at Medica, Ms. Durant is responsible for leadership in the development and delivery of state-of-the art human resources programs across Medica and ensuring it has the talent to meet its business objectives. She also oversees the corporate communications function and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
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Medica serves communities by providing healthcare coverage and related services in the employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. It operates in Minnesota, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Medica’s vision is to be trusted in the community for our unwavering commitment to high quality, affordable healthcare.
Healthcare Recruiting
Furst Group, which is headquartered in Rockford, IL, partners with many of the premier healthcare organizations in the world, from providers and payers to life-science companies and private equity/venture capital firms. While Furst Group’s roots are in managed care, the firm continues to be one of the nation’s leading executive search partners to health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers, post-acute, and hospice and palliative care facilities. Its work with insurers stretches back to the HMO era, yet the firm also teams with life science, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies.
Furst Group Recruits Chief People Officer for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Furst Group has assisted in the placement of Audrey Williams-Lee as chief people officer of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The hospital said it changed the title of this role from chief human resources officer to emphasize the importance of people in advancing its mission. “Audrey brings impressive experience leading a diverse, service-oriented workforce in major companies, such as the Hyatt Hotels Corp. and McDonald’s Corp.,” said Tom Shanley, president and CEO of Lurie Children’s Hospital. “We expect to benefit from her new perspectives, rich experience in human resources and deep commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. We welcome her enthusiasm to help us successfully navigate the transformational changes facing Lurie Children’s as the healthcare industry moves into the future.”
Furst Group also has offices in Phoenix, AZ; Radnor, PA; San Francisco; Brentwood, TN; Chicago; Irving, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Seattle; St. Louis; and Washington, D.C.
Furst Group recently assisted in recruiting Tracie Morris as the new chief people officer of BHSH System, a not-for-profit health system in Michigan. “Tracie shares our passion for a high-performing culture and investing in our people,” said Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of BHSH System. “She, working with our teams, will be integral as we reimagine our workforce and workplace, ensuring we are realizing our mission. Tracie has the vision and experience to make an immediate and positive impact for our teams, organization and communities. We are grateful for the Furst Group’s assistance in conducting a national search for our chief people officer.”
Ms. Morris comes to BHSH System from BMO Financial Group, where she was senior vice president, chief human resources officer, and chief inclusion officer since 2019. In every role of her 30-year career, she has led the talent strategy, organizational effectiveness and execution of inclusion and talent programs.
Related: Furst Group Assists Medica in CTO Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
