VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMERIGROUP
Corporation (NYSE: AGP) today announced the appointment of three senior
executives to key management positions within the Company: Steven B. Larsen
has been named Senior Vice President for State Government Relations; Tunde
Sotunde, M.D., has been named Chief Executive Officer of AMERIGROUP Community
Care of Georgia; and Robert A. Wychulis has been named Chief Executive Officer
of AMERIGROUP Community Care of New York.
"
Steve Larsen, Dr. Tunde Sotunde and Bob Wychulis are all accomplished
professionals who bring to AMERIGROUP deep knowledge of government, medicine
and business," said James G. Carlson, AMERIGROUP Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "Separately, they have distinguished themselves in working to make
our healthcare system better serve all of us. Together, they will help our
Company work more effectively with our government partners as we bring
healthcare to our country's most vulnerable citizens."
Larsen has a long background of public service in the State of Maryland,
having served in senior positions with three Maryland governors, and most
recently was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to serve as Chairman of the
Maryland Public Service Commission, the State's chief utility regulator.
Under Governor Parris Glendening, Larsen initially served as Chief Lobbyist.
For six years, from 1997 through 2003, he served as State Insurance
Commissioner. In each of these positions, he established a track record of
vigorous advocacy on behalf of Maryland's consumers and the public, and in
2003 he received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Maryland
Hospital Association.
For more than two years, from 2004 through 2007, Larsen held a series of
senior positions with AMERIGROUP, including Executive Vice President, Health
Plan Operations and Chief Executive Officer of AMERIGROUP in Maryland.
Larsen, an attorney who also has worked in private practice, completed his
undergraduate work at Gettysburg College, earned a masters degree in public
policy from Rutgers University and a law degree from Rutgers-Camden School of
Law. Larsen will report to John Littel, AMERIGROUP's Executive Vice
President, External Relations.
Sotunde most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of The Little
Clinic, a Nashville, Tennessee-based group of primary care treatment centers
located in retail businesses. He continues to practice medicine and has
volunteered his services at weekend medical clinics in Nashville.
From 2001 through 2007, Sotunde was with United Healthcare, where he
served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of that company's
seven-state Southeast Region. He previously worked as Medical Director of a
three-state region for Cigna Healthcare and as Chief of Pediatrics at Syracuse
Community Health Center in New York. He earned his medical degree from the
University of Ibadan in Nigeria, completed his residency in pediatrics at
Howard University and was awarded a masters degree in business administration
from the University of Memphis. Sotunde will report to Brian Shipp,
AMERIGROUP's Southeastern Region CEO.
Wychulis brings more than 30 years of diverse experience in healthcare to
AMERIGROUP. From 2003 until recently, he served as President and CEO of the
Florida Association of Health Plans, a trade association that represented more
than 20 major health insurers in Florida. He previously served in a number
of positions, including President and CEO, at Healthplan Southeast, a Florida
health maintenance organization with about 70,000 members.
Wychulis began his career as a business administrator for the Metropolitan
Center for Mental Health in New York City. He is a native New Yorker who
graduated from high school in Brooklyn, earned his undergraduate degree from
City University of New York and a masters degree in public administration from
New York University. Wychulis will report to Peter Haytaian, AMERIGROUP's
Northeastern Region CEO.
About AMERIGROUP Corporation
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
improves healthcare access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniors
and people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health services
for the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP Corporation
serves approximately 1.7 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and
Virginia. For more information, visit http://www.amerigroupcorp.com.
CONTACTS:
Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell News Media: Kent Jenkins Jr.
Senior Vice President, Senior Vice President,
Investor Relations External Communications
AMERIGROUP Corporation AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 321-3597 (757) 769-7859