S.C. BlueCross CEO Sellers to Retire; Pankau Promoted to CEO

COLUMBIA, SC – May 12, 2010 –  BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina announces that Chairmanand CEO M. Edward Sellers plans to retire as CEO, effective August 1,2010, and that current President and COO David S. Pankau has been namedpresident and CEO, also effective on August 1, 2010. Sellers willcontinue as chairman of the board.

 
Sellers, age 65, has been with Blue Cross and Blue Shield for 32 years, including 23 years in South Carolina. He has been CEO since 1992 andchairman since 2001. Since 1987, BlueCross revenues have grown from $220 million to $3.8 billion today. Its employee base also has grown from3,000 in 1987 to 11,000 in 2010. All of the company’s business sectorshave contributed to that growth — including BlueCross insurance,government divisions that hold contracts with Medicare and TRICARE,Companion Life Insurance Company, Companion Property & CasualtyInsurance Company, and 23 other subsidiaries.
 
Prior to joining BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina in 1987,Sellers held positions with Westinghouse Electric Corporation, theBoston Consulting Group, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associationin Chicago. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from VanderbiltUniversity and an MBA from Harvard. He said his wife of 32 years, Dr.Suzan D. Boyd, and their 28-year-old son, Adam, are looking forward tothis transition and share his enthusiasm for the future success ofBlueCross.
 
Sellers currently serves as chairman of New Carolina and as vice-chairof the Palmetto Institute. He previously served as chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Palmetto Business Forum, the Columbia College Board of Trustees, the ETV Endowment, and the PalmettoConservation Foundation. Recognitions include being elected BusinessLeader of the Year in 2002 by the State Chamber of Commerce, receiving(along with his wife, Dr. Suzan D. Boyd) the United Way of the MidlandsHumanitarians of the Year Award in 2008, and he will be inducted intothe South Carolina Business Hall of Fame later this month.
 
Pankau, age 46, has been with BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolinafor 17 years. He was appointed president and COO on August 1, 2009. Hisprevious assignments include being president of the BlueCross BlueShield insurance division and president of BlueChoice® HealthPlan of SouthCarolina, the company’s HMO subsidiary. David Pankau has proven himself to be an extraordinarily effective leader in our company, saidSellers. His success in leading our commercial BlueCross BlueShieldbusiness and his grasp of the complexities of the coming evolution inhealth care, and of our many diversified businesses, predict greatsuccess for him as the next CEO of our company.
 
Prior to becoming president of BlueChoice HealthPlan, Pankau served invarious operations management positions and in the government programsdivision, and before coming to BlueCross, he worked in the state ofSouth Carolina’s Health and Human Services Finance Commission. Pankauhas a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Eastern IllinoisUniversity and a master’s degree in public health from the University of South Carolina School of Public Health. He is active in the communityand is either serving or has served on the boards of directors ofHealthy Learners, Junior Achievement, the South Carolina Youth AdvocateProgram, and Saint Lawrence Place. He also is a member of the executivecommittee of the Columbia Heart Association. Pankau is married toJennifer DuMont, who also has a master’s degree from the University ofSouth Carolina’s School of Public Health, and they have two sons, ages10 and 8.
 
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (www.SouthCarolinaBlues.com) and BlueChoiceHealthPlan are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue ShieldAssociation. The only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina comprises more than 30companies involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, other insurance and employee benefits services, and a philanthropic foundation that funds programs to improve healthcare and access to health care for South Carolinians.