Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> February 7, 2001
JAMES C. SMITH is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of
First Health Group Corporation. After leading First Health through more
than 15 years of record growth and record financial performance as
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Smith was appointed Chairman
of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in 2000. Mr. Smith, who joined
the company in 1984, built First Health into the nation's premier full-
service national health benefits company with revenues expected to reach
$560 million in 2001. Under Mr. Smith's leadership, First Health has
grown its core business rapidly, augmented by strategic acquisitions
complementing its unique market niche and service orientation. First
Health specializes in serving national employers with an integrated
single source for their group health and workers' compensation programs
' providing comprehensive, cost-effective and innovative solutions for
all the health benefits needs of their employees throughout the country.
This includes everything from utilization review to the nation's largest
directly contracted PPO network of physicians and hospitals; from
nationwide workers' compensation to group health insurance; and from
claims administration to pharmacy benefits. A key element of First
Health's strategic success is developing and maintaining long-term
relationships with its large national clients. The company has been very
successful in this area, counting among its clients many of the nation's
top employers for both group health and workers' compensation ' and
maintaining a key client retention rate of 96% over the last decade.
Widely known and respected for his strategic vision and company-building
skills, Mr. Smith is active in leading industry organizations. He
currently serves as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee of
the Healthcare Leadership Council. He also serves on the Board of
Directors of the Health Insurance Association of America. Previously, he
was chairman of the Strategic Planning and Development Committee for the
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and also served as an
advisory director for the organization as well as a member of its
Education Committee. A lifelong entrepreneur, Mr. Smith founded ARC
Management, a management consulting firm, and was a Sales Executive with
Texas Instruments prior to joining First Health. He earned a Bachelor's
degree from Northeastern University in Boston in 1963 and currently
serves as a member of the university's Governing Board. First Health has
3,800 employees nationwide. Headquartered in Downers Grove, a suburb of
Chicago, it also has major offices in Scottsdale, Sacramento, Salt Lake
City and Richmond, Virginia. Profile
Mr. Smith: The company is 18 years old. It has been public for almost 14
years. We're a managed care company and we specialize in
