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Stephen J. Hemsley

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Stephen J. Hemsley (born 1952) is chair of the board and former chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group Inc. In August 2017, UnitedHealth announced that Hemsley would be stepping down after more than a decade as CEO and starting a newly created role of executive chairman of the board.[1]

A lawsuit was filed against Hemsley, then UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and two other senior executives in May 2024 for alleged fraud and insider trading due to failing to disclose an antitrust investigation into the company by the United States Department of Justice and by selling stock options before the probe was made public.[2][3][4] Data concerning these allegations and notice of its report to the Securities and Exchange Commission was initially published in the Minnesota Star Tribune in February of 2024.[5]

Early life and education

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Stephen J. Hemsley was born in 1952. He graduated from Fordham University in 1974.[6]

Career

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He was managing partner and chief financial officer at Arthur Andersen. In 1997, he joined the UnitedHealth Group. He was its chief executive officer from 2006.

He was more involved in the handling of backdated stock options than previously revealed, according to documents filed in a 2008 shareholder lawsuit in a Minneapolis District Court.[7] The company's two investigations largely exonerated him from the backdating scandal. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) continued its investigations even after it in 2008 settled legal actions against both United Health Care itself and its former general counsel.[8]

Compensation

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Business Week reported his annual salary as $14,518,164.[9] For 2016, his compensation was estimated at $31.3 million, representing a 55.8 percent increase compared to 2015,[10] which was estimated at $14,500,000 by FierceHealthcare.[11]

Forbes magazine ranked him at 269th in its 2009 Special Report on CEO Compensation.[12] According to bizjournals.com the country's highest-paid CEO, Hemsley, made $101.96 million in 2010.[13] In 2011, he was named the highest paid CEO by Forbes following a large gain in the value of his stock ownership.[14] In late 2011, Hemsley's most recent annual compensation was estimated by Forbes at $48.8 million.

Other positions

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He is a trustee of the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, and of Minnesota Public Radio. He is a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, the organization's governing body.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Murphy, Tom (2017-08-16). "UnitedHealth CEO to step down after more than decade". MSN. Associated Press.
  2. ^ Towfighi, John; Goldman, David (December 4, 2024). "Who was Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare fatally shot in Manhattan?". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "UnitedHealth chair, execs sold $102M in stock before DOJ probe became public". Crain's New York Business. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  4. ^ Graig Graziosi (2024-12-05). "UnitedHealthcare CEO gunned down in Manhattan sold company stocks just before DOJ probe made public". The Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Databank - Insider Trading". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 26 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Stephen J. Hemsley". NNDB.
  7. ^ Suit: Hemsley had bigger role in UNH backdating David Phelps, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 22, 2008
  8. ^ "Press Release: SEC Files Settled Enforcement Actions Against UnitedHealth Group and Former General Counsel in Stock Options Backdating Case". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Stephen Hemsley: Executive Profile & BiographyBusiness Week
  10. ^ "CEO Pay Watch: UnitedHealth's Stephen Hemsley made $31.3 million last year". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  11. ^ [1] by Leslie Small, in FierceHealthcare April 24, 2016]
  12. ^ Special Report on CEO CompensationForbes
  13. ^ "Unitedhealthcare's unspoken lobbying". 3 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  14. ^ "#1 Stephen J Hemsley". Forbes. 13 April 2011.
  15. ^ Boy Scouts of America Annual Report 2011 Archived 2012-11-14 at the Wayback Machine