Manuel Lopes, Martin Meehan, and Corey Thomas Join Board of Directors

BOSTON, March 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Manuel (Manny) Lopes, President and Chief Executive Officer of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center; Martin (Marty) Meehan, President of the University of Massachusetts; and Corey E. Thomas, President and CEO of Rapid7, have been elected to the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross). They replace Helen Drinan, Phil Johnston, and Ralph Martin. The Board also re-elected Phyllis Yale and Dorothy Puhy as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.

"Manny, Marty, and Corey are accomplished leaders with significant experience and expertise that will be invaluable as we advance our mission in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive marketplace," said Phyllis R. Yale, Board Chair. "On behalf of the entire Board, as well as the associates of Blue Cross, I also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Helen, Phil, and Ralph for their many years of board service."

Speaking to the value that each new Director will bring, Andrew Dreyfus, President and Chief Executive Officer said: "Manny's leadership in community health care will deepen our commitment to meeting the needs of all Massachusetts residents. Marty's long history of public service will help guide us during this period of unprecedented change. And Corey's expertise in data security and his entrepreneurial experience in technology will be complementary to our work." All three new directors come from organizations that are current Blue Cross customers.

Manny Lopes
Mr. Lopes is President and CEO of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC). Over his 20 year tenure at EBNHC, Manny has served in a number of roles of increasing responsibility, including in IT, Human Resources, and Operations. He left EBNHC for a time to work as a business consultant and project manager for Fortune 1,000 companies helping CEOs, CIOs, and CFOs redesign critical business processes.

Mr. Lopes serves on the boards of a number of organizations, including the Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Boston Medical Center, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. Mr. Lopes earned his MBA from Northeastern University's Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Lopes will serve on the Board's Audit and Health Care Quality and Affordability Committees.

Marty Meehan
Mr. Meehan is President of the University of Massachusetts. He was named to his current position in 2015 after serving as Chancellor of his alma mater, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Prior to joining UMass, Mr. Meehan served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993-2007.

Mr. Meehan graduated from UMass Lowell with a degree in education and political science, earned a master's degree in public administration from Suffolk University and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Mr. Meehan will serve on the Board's Finance and Business Performance and Health Care Quality and Affordability Committees.

Corey Thomas
Mr. Thomas is President and CEO of Rapid7, a leading provider of data security and analytics solutions that enable organizations to implement an active, analytics-driven approach to cybersecurity. Mr. Thomas has more than 15 years of experience in leading companies to the next stage of growth and innovation.

His previous positions include VP of Marketing at Parallels, Inc., a virtualization technology company; Group Project Manager of the Microsoft Server and Tools division, and as a consultant at Deloitte Consulting. Mr. Thomas has served on the U.S. Commerce Department's Digital Economy Board of Advisors since 2016. He received a B.E. in electrical engineering and computer science from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Thomas will serve on the Board's Audit and Health Care Quality and Affordability Committees.

About the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Board of Directors
While legally incorporated as a not-for-profit, Blue Cross is a tax-paying commercial enterprise that operates in a competitive marketplace and is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of successful and experienced leaders who help the company fulfill its mission to make quality health care affordable. In selecting new members, the Board follows best practices to ensure the election of skilled directors who possess the requisite content expertise and leadership skills. In addition, by statute, Blue Cross is required to have three directors who are officers or agents of contributing employers and two directors who represent labor.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not–for–profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We're the trusted health plan for more than 25,000 Massachusetts employers and are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our 2.8 million members first, we're rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts