Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> October 4, 2010

Wellpoint, Inc. – Lori Beer

Lori Beer is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Indianapolis-based WellPoint, Inc. She is responsible for the evolution of WellPoint's technology strategy and the delivery of enterprise business solutions, focusing on meeting the needs of consumers and providers, while delivering on the commitment to simplify the connection between health, care and value. Ms. Beer is an information technology executive with more than 20 years' experience leading the delivery of strategic business solutions. Her industry experience includes health care, telecommunications and government, with a proven track record of optimizing technology investments and driving cost-efficiency. Ms. Beer has held several posts during her decade tenure with WellPoint, including Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions and Chief Technology Officer, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions and Regional Executive Director of West Information Systems. Throughout her tenure with the company, she has had wide-ranging responsibility for management of IT staff, and she has championed her teams to build business partnerships and demonstrate value by effectively leveraging technology to drive business innovation. Some of her numerous accomplishments include reshaping the IT strategy to more closely align with the business strategy, creating the strategic technology direction and vision of WellPoint's Enterprise Transaction System (ETS) and partnering with Chief Medical Officer's organization to deliver innovative health information technology solutions, including individual health records, member medical history, and ePrescribing. Ms. Beer's numerous accomplishments include being recognized by Profiles in Diversity Journal as one of its "Women Worth Watching In 2010," being named by Insurance & Technology magazine as one of its "Elite Eight," and having WellPoint named to the 2009 InformationWeek 500 list of Top Technology Innovators. Prior to joining the company, she was Senior Technical Consultant and Systems Analyst at Convergys Corporation and a Software Engineer for Westinghouse Savannah River Site. Ms. Beer serves on the board of directors for the National Accounts Service Company (NASCO) and the Warren County (Ohio) United Way. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Dayton. Profile
TWST: Tell us about WellPoint.

Ms. Beer: Sure. I would start with our mission because the vast majority of the things we are doing truly link back to our mission, which is to improve the lives of the