Athenahealth names CVS alum as CFO
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Name: Tom Cowhey
Previous title: Executive vice president and CFO, CVS Health
New title: CFO, Athenahealth
Cowhey will take on the finance chief position on June 9, the health IT firm and electronic health record vendor said Tuesday.
He replaces John Hofmann, Athenahealth's previous CFO who joined in 2022. Hofmann stepped down late last year, and the health IT company has operated with an interim finance chief while it conducted a search for his successor, a spokesperson told Healthcare Dive.
Cowhey joins Athenahealth from healthcare behemoth CVS, where he served as permanent CFO since early last year. In April, CVS named a new finance head, Brian Newman, who took on the role later that month.
Cowhey also previously worked as CFO at ambulatory surgical care firm Surgery Partners and held leadership roles at insurer Aetna before it was acquired by CVS.
Cowhey's departure from CVS followed a spate of leadership changes at the healthcare giant while the company managed a challenging financial environment. The firm's profits were cut nearly in half last year as its insurance arm Aetna battled high medical costs that dinged its bottom line.
However, CVS gained momentum in the first quarter, reporting a 60% increase in net profit year over year and beating investor expectations on earnings and revenue. CVS also said it would stop offering health plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges next year, in an effort to focus attention on other business lines.
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