Andrea Walsh is the President and CEO of HealthPartners Inc., and has been named the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal’s 2021 Executive of the Year.

Headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, CDP Member, HealthPartners offers health insurance, care and do work in education and research. Founded in 1957 HealthPartners has been member-governed since the beginning, and their mission is to improve health and well-being in partnership with members, patients and community. HealthPartners has a vision of health as it could be, affordability as it must be, through relationships built on trust.

“There is nothing more important than your health, and that includes your financial security. That’s why at HealthPartners our focus is making health care simpler and more affordable.”

– Andrea Walsh, President & CEO

Walsh is the 45th winner of the award, which recognizes the outstanding personal and professional accomplishments of the business leaders who lead Minnesota’s largest companies.

The award was given last year to CEO Bahram Akradi and previous winners include Sleep Number Corp. CEO Shelly Ibach, Xcel Energy Inc. CEO Ben Fowke and former Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak.

Walsh was selected by Business Journal staff because of her overall leadership of HealthPartners. She was also selected because of her responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the George Floyd tragedy.

Walsh has been the CEO of HealthPartners since 2017. Prior to that she was the organization’s CMO. Her career with the organization began in 1994.

As CEO of HealthPartners, her focus on merging with rural systems, and growing HealthPartner’s insurance plans through Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas has lead to the expansion of HealthPartners.

In response to the Floyd tragedy, she’s a signatory to a letter issued by Twin Cities business leaders pledging to act on racial inequity. During the week after Floyd was killed, Walsh held a companywide moment of silence in his honor.

Walsh is also heavily involved in the Twin Cities business community, serving on several boards, including the Wilder Foundation, Science Museum of Minnesota, YMCA of the North and the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, and is involved with the Minnesota Business Partnership and the Neighborhood Health Care Network board.

With revenue of $7.3 billion in 2019, HealthPartners is the second-largest health care provider in Minnesota and one of its largest health plan providers. It employs over 20,000 people.

The Business Journal will publish a full profile of Walsh early next year and honor her at an event in the fall of 2021.

*Sources for this article include the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal & HealthPartners.com