Good morning The most difficult decision for a CEO isn’t just knowing what to build. It’s about knowing when to stop.
Not so with David Cordani, who grew Cigna from $18 billion in annual revenue to $275 billion in 17 years, including through the 2018 acquisition of Express Scripts, which created Evernorth’s health services business. Cordani will step down as CEO on July 1 and become executive chairman. I recently spoke to him about the industry, AI, and what it actually feels like to be handed the keys.
About his “leadership moment.”.’ When COVID-19 struck, Cordani was a member of the industry association’s executive committee. The question on the table: Would they cover all vaccination costs? “I claimed we had to,” he told me. Within two hours, they had worked out an agreement and plan with HHS and the White House. Then he pressed further: Would they proactively commit to coverage? all COVID-related services anyway? “It was quiet,” he said. “I posited: If not, if not now, when? The board never said, ‘Let’s look at the business case and the impact on earnings per share.’ We said our mission guided this decision. For me, this is a leadership moment.” Cigna was the first major health insurer to waive patient treatment costs.
About AI in healthcare. Cordani is concerned about the impact AI will have. “Sometimes we overestimate the impact in the first two years and underestimate the impact in the first 10 years,” he said. He doesn’t believe AI is ready to make clinical decisions, but sees real value in curating information to support them. His other concern: “It makes cyber challenges even more significant.” This is something to keep in mind as your own teams push for faster AI deployment.
What leadership actually needs now. “Leadership today is less hierarchical, less authoritarian, more coaching and enabling,” he said. “It has to be authentic and vulnerable, and it has to be fluid and dynamic.” His biggest regret? Not listening actively enough and not early enough. “The impatience of a Type A action orientation gets in the way of true understanding.”
When letting go. “When you hold the role of CEO, you serve the company,” he said. “I challenge myself not to get too attached to the identity of the CEO.” His definition of success: a transition so seamless that he’ll “forget something” because successor Brian Evanko and his team will be so effective. After 25 years in leadership roles, he admits he is entering uncharted territory. “I try to be intellectually honest. I try not to lie to myself,” he said. “I will try to make an active contribution to the further development of health and wellbeing systems, because as a society we do better when people have higher levels of vitality.”
And a proven way to maintain that vitality is to continue to find meaning in what you do.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
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