Heath Schiesser
President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Schiesser assumed the role of President and CEO in January 2008. He originally joined WellCare in 2002 as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales and focused most of his effort on the growth of the company’s Medicaid and Medicare businesses. As President of WellCare Prescription Insurance, he led the company's successful national entry into Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. Between mid-2006 and the assumption of his current position in January, he served in a part-time role as a senior advisor focusing on WellCare’s rapidly growing Medicare products.

Mr. Schiesser brings extensive experience in improving operations, developing strategies and growing businesses in several sectors. Prior to joining the Company, he worked at the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company, co-founded an online pharmacy for Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager, and worked in the development of new ventures.

A cum laude graduate of Trinity University, Mr. Schiesser received his MBA from Harvard University.  

Jonathan P. Rich
Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer

Jonathan Rich assumed the role of senior vice president and chief compliance officer in August of 2008. He leads WellCare’s corporate ethics and compliance program with a focus on compliance investigations, policy and procedures auditing, compliance training and compliance committee administration. He reports to the president and chief executive officer as well as to the Regulatory Compliance Committee of the WellCare Board of Directors.

Mr. Rich has more than 20 years of experience representing insurance and health care companies. He has served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for health insurer Aveta, Inc. as well as senior vice president and general counsel of Oxford Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare NE, with responsibility over a region generating approximately $7 billion in revenues. Mr. Rich has held the position of director and then vice president of legal affairs and litigation for Oxford Health Plans, where he was part of the management team that led the Oxford restructuring and turnaround that began in 1998. Additionally, Mr. Rich clerked for the federal district court of the Eastern District of New York and was an associate at the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he specialized in insurance, antitrust law and securities as well as merger and acquisitions litigation.

Mr. Rich earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University, where he was a Stone Scholar and served on the Law Review, one of the world's leading publications of legal scholarship.

Thomas F. O'Neil III
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

As the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Tom O’Neil brings to the Company more than 25 years of legal and regulatory, corporate compliance, and senior management experience from both the public and private sectors.  Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. O’Neil was a partner at DLA Piper US LLP, where he chaired the Government Affairs and Government Controversies practice groups. He also served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the MCI Group, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, a law clerk to United States District Judge Alexander Harvey II, and a Legislative Assistant to a Member of the House of Representatives.  

Mr. O’Neil received his A.B., magna cum laude, in 1979 from Dartmouth College and his J.D. in 1982 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Associate Editor of The Tax Lawyer.  He is a member of the Board of Regents of Georgetown University and the Board of Visitors of Georgetown University Law Center, and is the President of the Board of Trustees of the Contemporary Museum.

Thomas L. Tran
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Tran joined WellCare as the senior vice president and chief financial officer in July 2008.  In this leadership role, Mr. Tran is responsible for the Company’s financial activities, including financial and performance management, capital strategy and planning, investor relations and investment management.

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Tran held senior financial positions in Fortune 500, middle market and entrepreneurial environments. Most recently, he served as president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for health care management services provider CareGuide, Inc. Previously, Mr. Tran served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Uniprise, one of the principal operating businesses of UnitedHealth Group that manages health care benefits programs for employers, as well as senior vice president and chief financial officer at ConnectiCare Inc., a health maintenance organization based in Connecticut. Additionally, Mr. Tran held senior-level positions as the chief financial officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts and vice president of finance and controller of CIGNA HealthCare.

Mr. Tran earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Seton Hall University, and he holds a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from New York University.

William Kerr, M.D.
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Kerr brings over fifteen years of health care experience to his role as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at WellCare.  In this role, Dr. Kerr will assume responsibility for the Health Services and Pharmacy departments.  He oversees all quality management, care management, health and wellness, and is responsible for the network contracting strategy.

Prior to joining WellCare, Dr. Kerr served as Chief Medical Officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, where he successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive care management strategy for commercial and Medicare operations.  He has also held leadership positions, including managing large physician networks and utilization/quality management for Medicaid and commercial HMOs, at Independence Blue Cross, AmeriHealth of Texas and United Healthcare of Texas.  He began his career as a primary care physician at Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates and is currently a Fellow and Diplomat on the American Board of Pediatrics. 

He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as well as an MBA from the University of Houston and a BA from the University of Arkansas.

Rex M. Adams
Chief Operating Officer

Rex M. Adams joined WellCare as the chief operating officer in August of 2008. He assumed a newly created position and reports directly to the president and chief executive officer. In this position, Mr. Adams is responsible for the Company's operating activities, including claims payment, customer service and information systems.

Before joining WellCare, Mr. Adams served as the president and chief executive officer of AT&T East, a division of AT&T Inc. As one of five regional presidents, he was responsible for consumer and business sales and service as well as network operations for the Southern New England Telephone territory.

Mr. Adams joined AT&T following its merger with BellSouth Corporation. During his 12 years of service at BellSouth, he progressed through a number of leadership positions, including president of BellSouth Long Distance during its entry and rapid growth into the competitive long distance industry, and president of Wholesale Services during its implementation of government mandated and monitored operations for competitive local exchange and long distance carriers. He also served in leadership roles as part of Information Technology, Product Development and Management and Corporate Planning and Development.

Prior to joining BellSouth in 1994, Mr. Adams was a consultant at Monitor Company, a strategy-consulting firm that was founded by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter. While at Monitor Company, Mr. Adams was involved with clients in a number of industries, focusing on cost optimization, process improvements and competitive positioning. He also spent five years in the Unites States Army as an infantry officer, where he was airborne, ranger and air assault.

Mr. Adams is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the United States Military Academy at West Point. He previously sat on the Board of Trustees for the Yale-New Haven Hospital, one of the nation's premier teaching and research hospitals.

Walter W. Cooper
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales

As the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Mr. Cooper brings over 20 years of national and international management experience in multiple industries and disciplines including sales, marketing, manufacturing, operations, technology, human resources, and business development.

Mr. Cooper joined the executive team in 2006 as Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.  His role has evolved to encompass leadership of Marketing and Sales, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, and Real Estate.  Mr. Cooper also leads the Corporate Development Program which promotes the development of our future leadership talent within WellCare.

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Cooper served in senior-level positions with UnitedHealth Group, including positions as Senior Vice President of Group Retiree Solutions and Vice President of Marketing and Product for Specialized Care Services.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Cooper served in a variety of key, strategic positions at Jostens that included oversight of an international start-up operation in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.  While at Jostens, he was responsible for North American Marketing, including Canada, and served as a thought leader of a newly created go-to-market strategy.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and his Master of Business Administration degrees from Gannon University.

Alec Cunningham
Senior Vice President of Government Relations and New Markets

As the Senior Vice President of Government Relations and New Markets, Alec Cunningham brings over 14 years of experience in Medicaid program development to WellCare. In his current role, Mr. Cunningham manages the development of new Medicaid markets and provides oversight and leadership for government relations and state regulatory affairs.

Mr. Cunningham joined WellCare in 2005 as the Vice President of Business Development. He was responsible for national oversight of new Medicaid market development and coordinating all facets of new business operations. He has been successful in leading a company-wide effort to secure Medicaid contracts in Georgia, Ohio and Hawaii.  

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Cunningham served as Vice President of Business Development and Compliance at WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. where he was responsible for developing and managing health care products for state-sponsored programs. Mr. Cunningham also worked for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to develop and implement a statewide Medicaid managed care program. He received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from the University of Southern California. 

Anil Kottoor
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Anil Kottoor is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for WellCare. Mr. Kottoor brings 17 years of IT experience, most recently serving as Vice President and Chief Application Development Officer for WellPoint, Inc. In this role, he was accountable for leading all corporate and health solutions IT staff, selecting and managing key vendors and integrating processes, people and IT assets of merged and acquired companies.

Previously, Mr. Kottoor served as Head of Project Services for Aetna and as Vice President of IT Application Development for Oxford Health Plans handling both information technology and operational initiatives. He received his bachelor's degree from Concordia College in New York and earned his MBA from Pace University.

Adam Miller
President, National Medicare

Adam Miller is President of WellCare’s Medicare business lines and also oversees the company’s product development initiatives. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer of WellCare’s prescription drug plans which were successfully launched on January 1, 2006 and private fee-for-service plans which were launched on January 1, 2007.

Prior to joining WellCare, Mr. Miller directed UnitedHealth Group's Arizona Medicaid and Medicare Special Needs program that served over 300,000 members. He also worked with General Electric’s Medical Systems business in a series of strategy, business development and operational roles that included Vice President and General Manager of their global Cardiology Systems division. Prior to this, Mr. Miller was with the Boston Consulting Group where he worked with clients in the pharmaceutical, managed care and medical device industries on issues of growth and profitability enhancement.

Mr. Miller is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania, summa cum laude. He is also a member of the Pinnacle Society, the research foundation of the American Diabetes Association.

Keith Kudla
President, West Region 

Mr. Kudla brings over 10 years of executive-level health care experience to his leadership role at WellCare. He joined WellCare in 2004 and now oversees plans in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, and Hawaii. He has been credited with successfully developing and implementing strategic initiatives resulting in long-term growth and improved profitability. 

As Senior Vice President of Network and Finance for Magellan Health Services, Mr. Kudla led the five-year, $500 million performance improvement plan for the $1.6 billion national managed behavioral healthcare company serving 60 million members. Previously, his expertise in performance improvement initiatives led to the successful turnaround of UnitedHealthCare of Illinois and Prudential Healthcare Group, Inc. 

Mr. Kudla received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy where he graduated first in his class, and he received his Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard University. Mr. Kudla also served proudly in the United States Air Force.

Michael Cotton
President, Georgia Region

Michael Cotton, President of WellCare's Georgia Region, was most recently responsible for leading our market expansion efforts in Ohio.

Prior to coming to WellCare, Mr. Cotton was Managing Director for Mercer HR Consulting in Ohio. Mr. Cotton also held several executive leadership roles with regional and national managed care organizations. In his new role, Mr. Cotton will oversee network development/provider relations, sales, medical management, and government affairs working with other members of the management team.

Dan Parietti
President, Northeast Region 

Mr. Parietti has over 12 years of experience in the managed care industry. He first joined WellCare in 2002 as Vice President, New York. He served as Chief Operating Officer of that health plan in 2004, and in 2005 was promoted to President-New York. Mr. Parietti now oversees WellCare plans in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio.  

Previously, as the Chief Operating Officer for La Cruz Azul de Puerto Rico, Mr. Parietti was the general manager for a 500,000-member health plan with commercial and Medicaid membership throughout the island. As a Vice President at Health Net, Inc., Mr. Parietti had matrix responsibility for building and maintaining the national healthcare delivery system for a managed care company with over 5 million members. Mr. Parietti also worked for Humana in several market locations and at its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. In his final assignment with Humana, he served as Associate Executive Director for Humana of Puerto Rico. This role allowed him to leverage Humana’s stateside expertise and operations to improve and expand Humana of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Parietti’s education includes a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and an MBA from George Mason University.