CEO DOSSIER
With several years of experience in the medical industry, Bruce has signalled his intentions to transform Humana from simply a health plan business to a wellbeing company. He also remains focused on Medicare programs despite continued cuts.
early years
Born in 1962, Bruce Broussard graduated from Mays Business School, Texas in 1984 with a BBA in finance and accounting.
In 1987, Bruce joined Price Waterhouse as a Manager. The same year he also started studying for an MBA in finance from the University of Houston.
After leaving Price Waterhouse, Bruce was appointed VP of Finance for Continental Medical Systems, a post he held for three years. Following this he became CFO for Sun Healthcare Group until 1996. He was also CFO for Regency Health Services for a year during this time.
In 1997, Bruce continued his career in the medical and health industry and joined Harbor Dental as CEO. Three years later he joined US Oncology where he would go on to hold several positions including CFO, EVP of its Pharm Division, President and finally CEO from 2008 to 2009. He would then go on to become Chairman and CEO for a further two years.
Bruce commenced his employment at Humana in 2011 when he was appointed President. The same year it was announced that CEO Michael McCallister would retire in the next 12 to 18 months, with Bruce name as his successor.
As ceo
Soon after becoming CEO in January 2013 and as part of a national initiative to employ more than 100,000 US military veterans in private-sector jobs, Humana revealed it had exceeded its personnel-hiring target of 1000. “Based on Humana’s experience partnering in multiple ways with the US armed forces, we know that veterans and veteran spouses offer unique skills and insights that contribute significantly to fulfilling our dream of helping people achieve lifelong well-being," said Bruce. Humana intended to meet its goal by mid-2014 but achieved the hiring drive earlier than expected. The company went on to say it would recruit an additional 1,000 military veterans and/or their spouses within the next two years.
It was also revealed that Bruce would carry on expanding Humana's Medicare Advantage program, which he called "a blueprint for the future of health care." This was despite continued cuts to the program. "I don't want to make light of that; it does put challenges on the organisation." he added. Bruce also noted that the company was "committed to continuing to expand our presence" in the local Louisville area where employment had grown from around 4,000 to 11,000 in 10 years.
In February, at Humana's fourth-quarter 2012 earnings call, Bruce said that the business results over the past year "reflect the continued implementation of our company's strategy offering our members affordable healthcare combined with a positive consumer experience in growing markets." He also went on to add that Humana's long term belief is "that the healthcare costs and experience can greatly improve through modelled and incorporated fixed payments for caring for one's health, while enabling individual's to meet their unique needs through choices and incentives for quality."
In March 2013 it was revealed that Humana had spent $323,000 on letting Bruce commute to work during the previous year. With his family still based in Houston, Texas, Bruce regularly travelled to Louisville in the build up to becoming CEO. In 2012 Bruce received total compensation valued at nearly $2.9m, which included a $900,000 salary, £1.3m in performance-related bonuses and $631,154 for "other" remuneration.
Away from work
Bruce is married to Janine and together they have two children, a boy and a girl. Bruce has revealed his family will be joining him in Louisville in the summer of 2013. He said his children were “actually excited about coming up [to Louisville]." The family will live in a $1m condominium near Cherokee Park.
On moving to Louisville from Houston, Bruce said: “It has been a welcoming community; I have had so much help navigating through a new town.”
Bruce revealed that in June 2012 he was riding his bike on a trail in Cherokee Park, when he hit a tree, injuring his shoulder and ankle. Commenting on the care he received following the incident, Bruce said: “It was just one hop to another. I was looked upon as a stitch or a picture or a broken shoulder, but no one looked at it in a much broader perspective.”
Bruce joined Twitter in January 2013 and has already embraced the social networking service with regular updates about work and his personal life. He has posted pictures of his bike rides and commented on interactions with customers in coffee shops. You can follow Bruce at @BruceDBroussard.
In own words
On healthcare reform: "I truly believe having access and financing to a broader population is important. As we look in the future, the integrated delivery model is the direction to incentivise individuals to get paid for quality and cost."
