Patrick Conway

The combination of strategy and relentless execution is actually, in my experience, less common than we would like.

You know, we brought Alan Mulally in to talk to our whole leadership group.

And he talked about what makes great leaders.

And he talked about passion, service, and love.

I actually think that's apt for...

If you lead from a mission-driven standpoint, and it's clear to your people you care about them, and it's clear to your customers that you care about their needs and are focused on that, I think that's what makes for strong leadership.

We've recruited a tremendous senior team and had great people in Blue Cross and have added some additional people to that senior team.

And I just think we're poised to really change healthcare in North Carolina

for the better and hopefully be a model of what's possible for our entire health system.

I've had the pleasure to serve in government twice, Democrat, Republican administrations.

First, I'd say do it.

When the opportunity comes up, if you feel like it's the right opportunity, you should jump in and do it.

Two, those kind of jobs can have a huge impact on people.

I mean, if you think about CMS, we insured 140 million people, trillion plus a year of spend.

I mean, the scope of impact is truly unparalleled.

The third thing I'd say is you got to be persistent.

You know, to get things done at CMS, you had to push through multiple rounds of clearance, you know, congressional oversight.

There were always hiring processes that were antiquated.

There were always barriers, but if you keep pushing, you can make major change.

Think about Medicare.