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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFormer WellPoint Inc. CEO Angela Braly has been named by Gov. Mike Pence to serve as a board member of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
The appointment, made public on Tuesday, is the first high-profile post that Braly, 51, has accepted since she she was ousted from the top spot at the Indianapolis-based health insurer in August.
"An expert in her field, Angela Braly brings to the table an extensive background in the health insurance industry," Pence said in a prepared statement. "Her corporate leadership and national reputation will help us tell Indiana's story both nationally and internationally in the coming years."
Pence also named to the IEDC board Jim Schellinger, an Indianapolis architect and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, and Rick Johnson, CEO of Columbus-based venture capital firm Johnson Ventures.
The IEDC is a private entity funded by the state government to give tax incentives and training grants to companies looking to expand in Indiana. The three new members will join seven existing members of the IEDC board, in addition to Pence, who serves as its chairman.
Braly’s tenure leading WellPoint was rocky, in part because WellPoint was painted by President Obama’s administration as the poster child of health insurance abuses during the lengthy debate of the president’s health reform law.
Financial and operational missteps ultimately led investors to demand Braly’s ouster last summer.
The board of directors, which liked Braly, relucantly concluded she had to go. But the board allowed her to remain on the payroll long enough to collect additional stock awards that boosted the value of her compensation last year to $20.6 million.
In February, WellPoint hired Joe Swedish, a longtime hospital executive, to replace Braly. WellPoint is Indiana's largest public company, ranking No. 47 on the new Fortune 500 list.
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