UnitedHealth CEO steps down for ‘personal reasons’

UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday said Chairman Stephen Hemsley will return to the helm of the health care conglomerate, succeeding CEO Andrew Witty. 

Witty is stepping down for “personal reasons,” effective immediately, UnitedHealth said. Hemsley served as chief executive from 2006 to 2017.

The company didn’t disclose other details about Witty’s sudden departure, though Hemsley commended his “stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced.”

UNITEDHEALTHCARE ANNOUNCES NEW CEO AFTER KILLING OF BRIAN THOMPSON

In December, Brian Thompson, the head of UnitedHealth’s insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan.

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of shooting Thompson, pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the killing last month. The trial is expected to begin in 2026.  

Stephen Hemsley will return to running UnitedHealth Group, succeeding chief executive Andrew Witty. (Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Tim Noel, who most recently served as CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s Medicare and retirement business, took over the insurance unit shortly after Thompson’s death. 

Thompson’s death ignited a national conversation about the U.S. health care system and Americans’ deep-seated frustrations with how that system currently operates. 

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP AIMS TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS AFTER CEO MURDER

Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group Inc., arrives for a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Hemsley said on Tuesday that the company has “tremendous opportunities to grow” as it works to “help improve health care and to perform to our potential.” In doing so, Hemsley said the company can return to its long-term growth objective of 13% to 16%.

The company also suspended its 2025 outlook on Tuesday as care activity continued to accelerate while the company broadened to more types of benefit offerings compared to the first quarter. 

It also said the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected. The company still expects to return to growth in 2026.

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP AIMS TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS AFTER CEO MURDER

Hemsley will remain chairman of the board and Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley, according to the company. 

Hemsley has a longstanding history with the company, joining UnitedHealth Group as chief operating officer in 1997 and becoming president two years later. He became board chair in 2017.