News
MBA Speaker, Maureen O'Connor of Blue Cross Blue Shield NC
Maureen K. O'Connor, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) was the speaker for the MBA Leaders of Distinction series event on November 7. O'Connor's engaging talk was called Building the Health Care Bridge," and she discussed bridging from our traditional health care system to a new system based on improving quality, reducing cost and making it more patient-focused.
O’Connor leads the development and implementation of BCBS NC enterprise strategy, and is responsible for the healthcare and clinical division, network relationships and health system innovation, business development, analytics, health reform implementation and public affairs. O'Connor joined BCBSNC in 2000 as vice president and deputy general counsel and later assumed the roles of general counsel and chief administrative officer. Before joining BCBSNC, O'Connor was senior regional counsel with CIGNA, senior vice president and general counsel of Healthsource North Carolina and was in private practice with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett & Jernigan in Raleigh, N.C.
O'Connor currently serves on the boards of Meredith College, Elon University Law School and the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. She also serves on the national board of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) and she co-chairs the finance committee of the North Carolina Health Information Exchange. O'Connor holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor's degree from College of the Holy Cross. She was named by Diversity Journal as one of the nation's "100 Women to Watch in 2009" and was recognized in 2008 as one of ten "Women Extraordinaire" in the Triangle by Business Leader Media.
The Meredith MBA Leaders of Distinction Speaker Series brings outstanding business leaders to campus to speak to MBA students about relevant issues affecting business today.