UnitedHealth Group CEO resigns, other changes in the works

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – UnitedHealth Group Inc., the parent of UnitedHealthcare of New England, last week said its CEO, Dr. William W. McGuire, had stepped down as chairman of the board and director, and will leave the company on or before Dec. 1.
Until then, the board of directors said, McGuire will continue as CEO “and assist in an orderly transition to new leadership.” The board elected Stephen J. Hemsley, the company’s president and chief operating officer since 1999, to succeed McGuire as CEO.
The company also made several changes to its senior executive structure, to bolster legal and ethical oversight.
The changes came in the wake of a report on UnitedHealth stock-option practices, compiled by a special review committee and its independent counsel, that cited poor record-keeping, the apparent backdating of stock options, and “disclosures with respect to stock options and related accounting [that] were not accurate in certain respects.”