David Cordani: Practicing What He Preaches

You can say David Cordani certainly has the credentials to lead a company.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M in 1988 and followed this up with an MBA degree from the University of Hartford in 1994. Cordani is a CPA and a Chartered Financial Consultant.

He worked for Coopers & Lybrand before joining CIGNA where he is now the top gun. Cordani joined CIGNA in 1991 and held a number of key positions in his rise through the corporate ranks.  He was the Geographic Market Leader for Southeast Region of CIGNA HealthCare from December 1999 to August 2000. Cordani was Vice President for Corporate Accounting and Planning of CIGNA Corporation from August 2000 to April 2002. His most notable rise was as President of CIGNA HealthCare in July 2005.

Cordani became COO in June 2008 then became President and CEO of CIGNA Corporation in December 2009. He is not coming in simply to head the company on a proven path.  He is leading a transition of CIGNA from a traditional health insurance company into a trend setting global health service company.

Cordani believes that health improvement is the only way to guarantee the security and well-being of the company’s customers.  The company has the Annual CIGNA Health Awareness Tour to create awareness and educate employees, customers, and communities all over the U.S. about health and healthy lifestyles. Cordani actively participates in this tour every year. He also promotes this globally.

For Cordani when he participates it is not merely lip service. Outside of office he is also an avid triathlete. This is a sport where one really has to a certain level of good physical fitness in order to participate.  His charitable and community service activities include involvement with the American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and March of Dimes.

Cordani heads a company with a very long history. It was created in 1982 with the merger of Insurance Company of North America (established in 1792) and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (incorporated in 1865). CIGNA has sales of $22 billion in 2011 and has 31,000 employees around the world.