Karen S. Lynch

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Karen S. Lynch
Born
Karen S. Rohan

(1963-12-30) December 30, 1963 (age 61)
Ware, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationBoston College (BS)
Boston University (MBA)
Titleformer CEO, CVS Health
Term2022-2024[1]
PredecessorLarry J. Merlo
SuccessorDavid Joyner
Spouse
Kevin Lynch
​
(m. 2015)​

Karen S. Lynch (née Rohan, born December 30, 1963) is an American businesswoman and the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of CVS Health. In 2015, she became the first female president of Aetna. She has held executive positions at Magellan Health Services and Cigna. In 2021, she became the highest-ranking female chief executive on the Fortune 500 list.

Early life

Lynch was born on December 30, 1963, in Ware, Massachusetts.[2] She attended Ware Junior Senior High School and graduated in 1980.[3] Lynch then attended Boston College's Carroll School of Management, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and has a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification.[4] Upon graduating, she started her financial career in the Boston office of Ernst & Young, where she specialized in insurance.[5][4]

Career

Lynch credits her chosen career path in healthcare to her family life experiences.[5] In 2004, Lynch was appointed president of Cigna Dental.[6] The following year, she was named to a newly created position that combines leadership of Cigna Group Insurance and Cigna Dental.[7] She left Cigna in 2009 to become president of Magellan Health Services.[8]

Lynch stayed with Magellan until 2012, when she joined Aetna as executive vice president and head of specialty products.[9] Three months after joining Aetna, Lynch led the integration of Coventry Health Care, which was the largest health care acquisition at the time.[10] In 2015, Lynch became Aetna's first female president, a role she retained through the $70 billion acquisition of Aetna by CVS Health in 2018.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynch took the helm as president and chief executive officer of CVS Health on February 1, 2021, following the retirement of Larry Merlo.[12] The appointment made her the highest-ranking female CEO on the Fortune 500 list and the 40th female chief executive on the Fortune 500 list.[12][13] Under Lynch's leadership, CVS Health administered the COVID-19 vaccine in more than 40,000 long-term care facilities and in CVS Pharmacy locations in 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.[14] She was also credited with overhauling their drug pricing business model to decrease costs borne by consumers. Under Lynch, CVS announced CVS CostVantage, a cost-plus model that based the cost of prescription drugs on the amount paid by CVS plus a small markup.[15]

In 2023, Lynch's total compensation from CVS Health was $21.6 million, representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 392-to-1.[16]

In March 2024, Lynch released a memoir, titled "Taking Up Space: Get Heard, Deliver Results, and Make a Difference".[17] In October 2024, the CVS Health board replaced Lynch as president and CEO, with CVS Caremark executive David Joyner.[18]

In April 2025, Lynch signed on as an exclusive speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau. [19]

Awards and honors

Lynch was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50, a list of female entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators over the age of 50.[13] She was awarded the 2021 Committee for Economic Development Distinguished Leadership Award.[20] Lynch is a former board member of CVS Health, U.S. Bancorp, The Business Council, Boston College Women’s Council, and The Business Roundtable. She was ranked 1st in Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women for three consecutive years (2021, 2022 and 2023).[21][22][23]

Lynch was awarded honorary doctorates from Bryant University,the University of Hartford, and Becker College.[24][25]

Lynch was honorary co-chair of the Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure benefiting breast cancer research.[26][10] Lynch was later named to Time's Time 100 annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world in 2023.[27]

In 2024, the business magazine CEO Today named Lynch its "Healthcare CEO of the Year," recognizing her leadership of CVS.[28] She delivered the commencement address at Bryant University in May 2024.[25]

Personal life

Lynch was raised by a single mother.[29] Her mother died by suicide when Lynch was 12 years old.[5] Following her mother's death, Lynch and her three siblings were raised by their aunt.[30][31] In Lynch's early 20s, she lost her aunt to breast cancer, lung cancer, and emphysema.[8]

Lynch is married to Kevin M. Lynch.[8][32] The two first met in the early 1980s while enrolled in college, and later reconnected in the early 2000s.[29]

References

  1. ^ "CVS to replace CEO Karen Lynch with long-time exec David Joyner". Yahoo Finance. 18 October 2024.
  2. ^ "LYNCH Karen S." globalny.biz. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Williams, Michelle (September 13, 2016). "Karen Lynch, native of Ware, makes list of Fortune's 'Most Powerful Women'". masslive.com. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Deep-Rooted passion for healthcare drives Aetna's Lynch". distilnfo.com. October 5, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Brodwin, Erin; Court, Emma; Ramsey Pflanzer, Lydia (April 15, 2019). "Introducting: The 10 people transforming healthcare". Businesser Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Cigna Dental Has New President". Hartford Courant. April 16, 2004. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Cigna Fills A New Position". Hartford Courant. November 17, 2005. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c Gosselin, Kenneth R.; Singer, Stephen (November 6, 2020). "Aetna executive Karen S. Lynch will become CEO of CVS Health". Hartford Courant.
  9. ^ "Karen S. Rohan to Head Aetna's Specialty Products Organization". Business Wire. June 7, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Leaders Interview with Karen S. Lynch, President, Aetna". www.leadersmag.com. January 1, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "Diversity fuels Karen Lynch's leadership at Aetna". www.furstgroup.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Valinsky, Jonathan (November 6, 2020). "CVS names female CEO, expanding the ranks of women leading Fortune 500 companies". CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "50 Over 50 2021". Forbes. 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  14. ^ Minemyer, Paige (January 12, 2021). "JPM21: CVS making 'good progress' in administering COVID-19 vaccines in nursing homes, Lynch says". fiercehealthcare.com. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  15. ^ Sonnenfeld, Jeffrey; Tian, Steven (January 4, 2024). "Biggest CEO successes and setbacks: 2023's triumphs and 2024's challenges". Fortune. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  16. ^ Anderson, Mae; Harloff, Paul; Ortutay, Barbara (June 3, 2024). "CEOs made nearly 200 times what their workers got paid last year". AP News. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Kayser, Alexis (March 15, 2024). "CVS' CEO on taking up space". Beckers Hospital Review. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  18. ^ Kim, Annika; Pramuk, Jacob (October 18, 2024). "CVS replaces CEO Karen Lynch with exec David Joyner as profits, share price suffer". CNBC. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  19. ^ "Karen Lynch, Named Fortune's Most Powerful Woman in Business and Trailblazer in Customer-Centric Leadership, Joins Washington Speakers Bureau's Elite Roster". PR Newswire. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "CED Honors Six US Business Leaders and their Companies for Distinguished Leadership". nbc15.com. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  21. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune. 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  22. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune. 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  23. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune. 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  24. ^ England, Joanna (March 6, 2023). "Karen Lynch: Blazing a trail for the Health insurance sector". insurtechdigital.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "CVS CEO to Deliver Bryant Commencement Address". news.bryant.edu. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
  26. ^ Singer, Kenneth R. Gosselin, Stephen (6 November 2020). "Aetna executive Karen S. Lynch will become CEO of CVS Health". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Lee, Abigail (April 13, 2023). "Mass. natives Jennifer Coolidge and Karen Lynch make Time's 100 most influential people list - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  28. ^ "Past Winners: Karen Lynch". CEO Today. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  29. ^ a b McGinn, Daniel (2023). "CEO Karen Lynch '84 Wants CVS to Be Your One-Stop Shop for Medical Care". Boston College. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  30. ^ Woldt, Jeffrey (March 17, 2021). "Lynch brings passion for health care to new role". chaindrugreview.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  31. ^ "How One Of Healthcare's Most Powerful Women Turned Personal Tragedy Into Her Driving Passion". Forbes. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  32. ^ Jourdey, Tom (June 3, 2021). "Gift to strengthen program on mindfulness, empathy and compassion in education". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved May 21, 2023.