As Humana nears its 50th anniversary next year, a major change in its leadership is underway. David A. Jones Jr., son of the health care giant's founder, has voluntarily resigned from his post as chairman of the board. Taking his place immediately is Humana CEO Michael B. McCallister, who was voted unanimously to the position by the board.
Jones will remain active on the board, according to Humana sources, and the change in leadership is said to be an amicable one. "David and the Board are very pleased with Mike's strategic direction and leadership, and they felt that he deserved the opportunity to be Chairman at this point in the company's history," Humana told me. "He's been CEO for 10 years, and we've had a remarkable run of growth and success during that time."
Indeed: McCallister has been with Humana for 34 years, and in 2008, he was voted by Forbes magazine as one of America's top CEOs when it came to creating shareholder value. During the last decade, Humana's stock price showed slow growth for the first few years of McCallister's tenure, surging dramatically from 2004-2008, at which point it dipped and has shown steady recovery ever since.
