Centene appoints Susan Smith as COO

Centene announced the appointment of Susan Smith as its COO, effective January 1, 2024. As COO, Smith will report to Centene President Ken Fasola and will be responsible for core business operations, population health, the enterprise transformation office, provider experience and quality. She has worked at Centene since June 2023. Smith brings nearly two decades of expertise in the payer space, having spent 19 years at Humana. She most recently served as SVP of Clinical, Quality and Enterprise Solutions President, where she had oversight of quality; clinical strategy, analytics and product development; clinical operations; risk adjustment; and experience transformation. Prior to this role, Smith served as SVP of Clinical Solutions and SVP of Medicare. Among numerous accomplishments during her tenure, she is credited for her work in leading Humana’s efforts to improve its Star ratings and member quality; in playing a central role in the design and development of Medicaid operations for Humana; and for her experienced leadership creating sustainable organizations and processes during transformative times. She held other leadership roles, including SVP of Healthcare Quality Reporting and Improvement, and Vice President of Risk Adjustment, among others. Ms. Smith started her career at Colgate-Palmolive.