Witty Steps Down, Hemsley Takes the Helm at UnitedHealth Group

Andrew Witty

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and will be replaced by the company’s former CEO and current board chair, Stephen Hemsley, the company announced this morning.

Witty, who became CEO of the healthcare giant in 2021, presided over the Minnesota-based company as it was whipsawed by multiple crises.

The February 2024 cyberattacks on the company’s claims processing subsidiary, Change Healthcare, disrupted healthcare payments throughout the country for weeks.

In December, Brian Thompson, CEO of its insurance unit, UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed on a street in Midtown Manhattan.

In early 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice had launched a civil fraud investigation into the company’s Medicare Advantage billing practices.

The investigation came several months after a series of Journal articles raised questions about whether the company had systematically “upcoded” diagnoses to boost payments from the federal government.

Further continued as the organization’s stock price has plummeted 45.5% since reporting its first-quarter results, according to MarketWatch.

Its market capitalization fell from $528 billion in early April to $325 billion Tuesday morning.

Shares also dropped 15.8% in morning trading today, which is its lowest since November 2020, MarketWatch reported.

In addition, UnitedHealth suspended their 2025 outlook as care activity continued to accelerate and Medicare Advantage members new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected.

In a company press release, Hemsley addressed the transition, noting he was grateful for Andrew’s “stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced. The board and I have greatly valued his leadership and compassion as chief executive and as a director and wish him and his family the best.”

Hemsley, 72, an accountant by training, joined UnitedHealth as chief operating officer in 1997 and became president in 1999. He served as CEO from 2006 to 2017, a period of much growth for the company, and became board chair that same year.

Stephen Hemsley joined UnitedHealth as chief operating officer in 1997 and became president in 1999. He served as CEO from 2006 to 2017.

According to a 2013 Fortune feature, Hemsley spearheaded a cultural and strategic transformation at UnitedHealth, emphasizing emotional intelligence and patient-centered care.

His tenure saw the expansion of the company’s Optum services division and consistent annualized returns of 24.7% since the firm went public in 1984, the feature said.

“UnitedHealth Group has tremendous opportunities to grow as we continue to help improve health care and to perform to our potential—and, in so doing, return to our long-term growth objective of 13% to 16%,” Hemsley stated in the release.

In an impromptu investor call Tuesday morning, Hemsley spoke more on the role transition and expressed regret for the company’s recent performance.

“On behalf of the UnitedHealth Group board, our fellow employees and myself, our deepest thanks and appreciation to Andrew Witty for his leadership of this company, a vital role he played with real integrity and compassion during one of the most difficult periods any company could endure,” Hemsley said in the call. “We understand his decision, and I’m grateful he has agreed to serve as a senior advisor to me.”

He added that he was “deeply disappointed in and (apologized) for the performance setbacks (UnitedHealth) encountered from both external and internal challenges,” he said. “Many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals—as well as our opportunities—are largely within our control. I am optimistic about our future. As these issues are within our capacity to resolve, we will approach them with humility, rigor, and urgency, as we have done over the years.”

Hemsley said the decision to suspend the 2025 outlook was “a necessary step,” one that would allow leadership to focus on core strategic improvements.

“Our strategy and structure are the right ones for this era,” he said. “They are designed to help more people more comprehensively through value-based care approaches that are integrated and holistic. We have made meaningful progress through value-based care approaches to overcome these issues and intend to execute far more urgently and precisely along this path moving forward.”

UnitedHealth expects to return to growth in 2026.