About Us : Management Team

Alec Cunningham
Chief Executive Officer

Alec Cunningham assumed the role of chief executive officer in December 2009, and has two decades of extensive public policy and senior management experience in the health care sector, with a particular focus on managed care and the Medicaid and Medicare programs. He joined WellCare’s executive team in 2005 as vice president of business development, and soon thereafter WellCare was awarded significant new Medicaid contracts in Georgia, Ohio and Hawaii. Throughout his tenure, he has played a leadership role in all facets of the company’s government affairs initiatives. After serving as president of WellCare’s largest operating division, he was named chief executive officer of the company.

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Cunningham was vice president of Business Development and Compliance at WellPoint Health Networks, Inc., where he was responsible for developing and managing health care products for state-sponsored programs. Earlier in his career, he worked for the state of Oklahoma, initially on the Governor’s staff and later at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, where he participated in the development and implementation of the state’s Medicaid managed care program.

Mr. Cunningham received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Lawrence D. Anderson
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Larry Anderson joined WellCare in October 2010 as the senior vice president and chief human resources officer. He reports directly to the chief executive officer and is responsible for driving human resources initiatives such as associate engagement, development, benefits and performance management.

Mr. Anderson has more than 20 years of leadership experience, with a particular focus on providing strategic human resources direction for health care companies. Before joining WellCare, Mr. Anderson was the senior vice president of Human Resources for ValueOptions, a managed care company that specializes in management of behavioral health services. Prior to this, he served as vice president of Human Resources at WellPoint, Inc. Mr. Anderson also held leadership positions with E. & J. Gallo Winery and the IBM Corporation.

Mr. Anderson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Industrial Relations degrees, both from the University of Minnesota.

Christina C. Cooper
President, Florida and Hawaii Division

Chrissie Cooper has served as the President of the Florida and Hawaii Division since December 2009. She joined WellCare in 2006 as Vice President, Finance Operations and was promoted to Region Vice President, Finance in August 2008. In August 2009, Ms. Cooper was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of the Florida and Hawaii Division.

Prior to joining WellCare, Ms. Cooper held several leadership positions at PacifiCare Health Systems from 1999 to 2006, including Regional Vice President, Finance. From 1997 to 1999, she served in a finance capacity at United HealthCare of Colorado.

Ms. Cooper received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration, Financial Management degrees from the University of Arizona.

Walter W. Cooper
Chief Administrative Officer

As chief administrative officer, Mr. Cooper is responsible for the overall operations of WellCare, including health care delivery, quality improvements, corporate network contracting, care management, service operations, information technology, and sales and marketing, as well as driving continuous process improvement throughout the company. Mr. Cooper’s focus is centered on improving service processes and systems, member and provider satisfaction and administrative cost management. Mr. Cooper also has P&L management responsibilities for WellCare’s stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and the specialty pharmacy business unit.

Mr. Cooper joined WellCare in October 2006 and during his tenure has served as senior vice president, Strategic Initiatives; senior vice president, Marketing and Sales; and senior vice president, chief marketing officer and president, Specialty Business Unit. In addition to the above, during the past five years, Mr. Cooper has served as a lead executive in a broad spectrum of areas across the company, including Health Services, Operations, Human Resources, Corporate Communications, Regulatory Affairs, Marketing and Sales, Product Development, National PDP, Business Strategy Group, Business Process Improvement, Marketing Communications and Specialty Pharmacy.
 

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Cooper held senior-level positions with UnitedHealth Group, including senior vice president of United Retiree Solutions and vice president of Marketing and Product for Specialized Care Services. Earlier in his career, Mr. Cooper served in a number of strategic positions at Jostens, including general manager of an international start-up operation in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Prior to Jostens, he worked for eight years with Bausch & Lomb as general manager of their international operations.
 

Mr. Cooper received both his Mechanical Engineering Bachelor of Science and his Master of Business Administration from Gannon University.

Marc S. Russo
President, North Division

Marc Russo joined WellCare in October 2010, as the president of WellCare’s North Division, and is responsible for WellCare’s businesses in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana and Illinois.

Mr. Russo has more than 15 years of health care experience. Prior to joining WellCare, he served as the vice president of Senior Markets for Blue Shield of California, where he oversaw managed care plans, stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare supplement insurance plans. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Russo served as a regional president for Secure Horizons, UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare managed care business, where he managed a 13-state region. Earlier in his career, he served at Oxford Health Plans in a variety of roles, including regional vice president of Government Programs.

Mr. Russo received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maryland.

Jesse Thomas
President, South Division

Jesse Thomas joined WellCare in October 2010 as the president of WellCare’s South Division, and is responsible for WellCare’s businesses in Georgia, Texas and Louisiana.

Mr. Thomas has more than 25 years of health care industry experience and was most recently the president of Molina Healthcare of Michigan and Ohio. Prior to Molina Healthcare, Mr. Thomas served as the chief/administrator of the Office of Healthcare Purchasing for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, where he was responsible for leading the integration of health care procurement functions for four of the state’s agencies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Thomas held leadership positions with AmeriChoice, a UnitedHealth Group company; HealthPlans of America, NJ Inc.; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the National Capital Area; and Total Health Care, Inc. He has also served as board president for the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans in Chicago.

Blair W. Todt
Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer

Blair Todt joined WellCare as senior vice president and chief compliance officer in April 2010. He leads WellCare's corporate ethics and compliance program with a focus on compliance investigations, policy and procedures auditing, compliance training and compliance committee administration. He reports to the chief executive officer and the Regulatory Compliance Committee of the WellCare Board of Directors.

Mr. Todt previously was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for health care provider MedCath Corporation. Prior to joining MedCath in 2006, Mr. Todt served as deputy general counsel, compliance and litigation at BearingPoint, Inc. (formerly KPMG Consulting Inc.), where he was a member of the Compliance Steering Committee and participated in the formation of the Office of Chief Compliance Officer, including the creation and implementation of ethics, privacy, regulatory and human resource training programs. Earlier in his career, Mr. Todt was a partner at Carter, Conboy, Case, Blackmore, Maloney, and Laird, P.C., where he advised corporations on appropriate compliance and ethics programs. He also served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Con G. Cholakis in the Northern District of New York.

Mr. Todt received his undergraduate degree in political communications from The George Washington University and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School.

Thomas L. Tran
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Tran joined WellCare as the senior vice president and chief financial officer in July 2008. In this role, Mr. Tran is responsible for the Company's financial activities, including financial and performance management, capital strategy and planning, investor relations and investment management.

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Tran held senior financial positions in Fortune 500, middle market and entrepreneurial environments. Most recently, he served as president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for health care management services provider CareGuide, Inc. Previously, Mr. Tran served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Uniprise, one of the principal operating businesses of UnitedHealth Group that manages health care benefits programs for employers, as well as senior vice president and chief financial officer at ConnectiCare Inc., a health maintenance organization based in Connecticut. Additionally, Mr. Tran held senior-level positions as the chief financial officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and vice president of finance and controller of CIGNA HealthCare.

Mr. Tran earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Seton Hall University, and he holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from New York University.