PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana named John Kao, 38, president and CEO of its Specialty Service Division and new e-commerce company, PacifiCare Ventures. Kao assumed the position from Jeff Folick, 52, who will remain with the company for the remainder of 2000 as a consultant before retiring.
Kao will lead the expansion of the Specialty Service Division and oversee PacifiCare Ventures, a separate operating unit of PacifiCare developing strategies and technology partnerships with venture capitalists, technology companies and other healthcare entities.
He was previously senior vice president in corporate development and CFO of PacifiCare’s Secure Horizons USA, the nation’s largest HMO with more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries. He joined PacifiCare in 1997 when the company acquired FHP International Corp.
PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation’s leading managed healthcare services companies, serving approximately 4 million members in nine states and Guam. The company reported approximately $10 billion in annual revenue for 1999, with more than $200 million in net income and more than $4 billion in assets.
