Centene Corporation has announced the appointment of Anika Gardenhire (pictured above) as chief customer experience officer.
In her new role, Cardenhire will work across the organization to ensure that customers’ voices are heard in all enterprise decision-making processes.
Gardenhire’s experience from multiple facets of the healthcare system – from her time as a cardiology nurse to her most recent role leading Centene’s digital transformation – give her a deep understanding of the insurer’s key stakeholders, the company said.
“Centene understands how critical customer experience is to delivering value,” said Sarah M. London, CEO of Centene. “In her new role, Anika will serve as the voice of Centene’s customers, which is especially important given that Centene focuses on creating coverage options and supporting health outcomes for those whose voices often go unheard in the healthcare system. I look forward to Anika’s continued leadership as we work to deliver customer experiences that transform the health of our members.”
“In this new role, I’m excited to serve as a caregiver for the voices of our 26 million members,” Gardenhire said. “I deeply appreciate the emphasis Sarah and this leadership team are placing on measuring success through the experiences of our members. Health is our greatest resource, and I’ll be focused on ensuring our customers’ interactions with Centene build and fortify a partnership to protect that resource for our members and the communities we serve.”
Gardenhire joined Centene in 2020 and most recently served as the company’s chief digital officer. Prior to that, she served as Centene’s regional vice president of digital and clinical systems. Before joining the company, Gardenhire served as assistant vice president of digital transformation at Intermountain Healthcare. She has also served as a principal at Leidos and a senior manager at Deloitte.
Gardenhire’s appointment comes on the heels of Centene’s appointment of Tanya McNally as chief people officer. The company was recently ranked as the fourth-largest health insurer in the US.
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