Teladoc Finds New CEO at Guidewell
The directors of Teladoc Health Inc. have picked a veteran Guidewell executive to be the new CEO of the Purchase, New York-based virtual care giant.
Chuck Divita took the helm at Teladoc June 10, when he also joined the board of the company that employs about 5,600 people and last year rang up revenues of $2.6 billion. Divita assumed the reins from interim CEO Mala Murthy, who took over from former boss Jason Gorevic in April and will remain Teladoc’s CFO.
Divita, 55, comes to Teladoc from GuideWell, the holding company for the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance companies in Florida and Puerto Rico as well as other ventures that combined serve more than 38 million people across the country. He joined Guidewell in late 2011 as Florida Blue’s chief accounting officer and in early 2014 was named CFO of the holding company. Four and a half years later, he was promoted to executive vice president of the enterprise’s commercial markets businesses, which produces about $23 billion in revenue annually.
Before his time with Guidewell, Divita rose through the executive ranks of publicly traded property & casualty insurer FPIC Insurance Group Inc., culminating in being its CFO from 2006 to 2011.
“We are confident we have selected an innovative and visionary leader capable of delivering growth at scale, value for our clients and positive relationships with all our partners and colleagues,” Teladoc board Chairman David Snow Jr. said in a statement. “His combination of large healthcare company and public-company experience make him a tremendous asset.”
Divita — who is being paid an $800,000 salary and received stock incentives with a target value of $15 million — will look to get Teladoc back on track in terms of growth and profitability. The company lost nearly $82 million in the first quarter (and $220 million in 2023) as marketing costs have climbed, chronic care efforts haven’t produced the promised results and growth in behavioral services has slowed. Murthy in late April said she was looking to international markets to provide a lift for the BetterHelp behavioral business.
“Teladoc Health has been successful at securing a leading position in the marketplace,” Divita said. “I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues to build upon this foundation, advance key strategic priorities and ensure the company is positioned for long-term, sustainable success.”
Investors’ reaction to Divita’s appointment has been decidedly ho-hum: Around midday June 13, shares of Teladoc (Ticker: TDOC) were changing hands at $9.93, nearly 7% below where they closed the session before directors announced their news. The company’s market capitalization is now about $1.7 billion, down from $2.4 billion when Gorevic exited.
