Joe Swedish

Joseph Robert Swedish (born 1951) is an American healthcare executive and leader. He is a former senior adviser to the board of directors at Anthem, Inc., a Fortune 29 company, and was the CEO of Anthem, Inc. from 2013 to 2017. For 12 years in a row Swedish was named Modern Healthcare’s one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.

Early life and education Swedish is the son of Eastern European immigrants. His father changed the family name from "Szwedzicki" to "Swedish" upon emigration through Ellis Island in 1949 from post WW II Europe as Displaced Persons. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and attended elementary school at an orphanage while growing up on his parents’ farm in Virginia. Swedish also attended a Catholic ROTC military college preparatory high school.

Swedish received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and then a master's degree in health administration from Duke University. During his tenure, Swedish reinvigorated Anthem's culture by aligning the company's leadership to create a unified, inclusive and values-centered culture where associates are committed to an authentic mission. He successfully managed the merger with Catholic Healthcare East in 2012 to create the then second largest Catholic healthcare system in the United States.

Centura Health From 1999 to 2005, Swedish served as president and CEO of Colorado's Centura Health, which was the state's largest hospital system and fourth largest private employer. Under his leadership, Centura improved its financial stability, strengthened its voice on healthcare policy issues, and made major investments in system expansion with strategic capital deployment to grow, to scale and improve the quality of care and services. IBM, former member of board of directors CDW, board of directors Mesoblast, former member of board of directors and past chairman of the board Centrexion Therapeutics, board of directors Navitus Health Solutions, board of directors Trout Unlimited, board of trustees The Nature Conservancy (Colorado Chapter), board of trustees Previous Anthem, Inc., executive chairman, president and CEO, Anthem Board of Directors Previous chairman of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Previous chairman of the board, Catholic Health Association Duke University's Fuqua School of Business board of visitors, member and past chairman of the board Swedish has also held board and advisory positions with American Hospital Association; Coventry Health Care, RehabCare Group, Inc.; BankFIRST, Cross Country, Inc;, National Quality Forum; Winter Park Health Foundation; and Loyola University Chicago

Awards and recognition

Under Swedish's CEO leadership, Anthem was recognized by Ethisphere on the 2018 list of World's Most Ethical Companies 2005–2017 Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year—Rocky Mountain Region award, regarded as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the country University Medal, board of regents, University of Colorado Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives