British boss of US healthcare giant UnitedHealth quits for ‘personal reasons’

The British boss of American healthcare giant UnitedHealth has stepped down as chief executive following “some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced”, the company has announced.

Former GSK boss Sir Andrew Witty’s decision to leave the role was for “personal reasons”.

UnitedHealth Group’s chairman Stephen Hemsley has been named as the new chief executive, while also remaining as chairman of the board.

The move comes five months after one of its top executives was killed after being shot as he walked to an investor conference in New York.

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson, is on trial in the US after pleading not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.

The company has faced a backlash since the fatal shooting which prompted a wave of people in the US to turn to social media to express their frustration over healthcare access in the country.

UnitedHealth operates the nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, which covers more than 49 million people in the US.

Mr Hemsley said on Tuesday: “We are 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.”

Sir Andrew said: “Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honour as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me.”

Sir Andrew is a British businessman who was the chief executive of GSK for nearly nine years until 2017, having climbed the ranks of the pharmaceutical giant he worked at for more than three decades.

He also served as an adviser to the UK government’s vaccine taskforce which helped speed up the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.