Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey CEO and leadership

Experienced Chief Diversity Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the insurance industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Coaching, Diversity Training, Conflict Resolution, Executive Coaching, and College Recruiting.

Patrick Aylward is Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ). Mr. Aylward is responsible for ensuring the organization is focused on its highest priorities, promoting cross-divisional alignment, and advancing Horizon BCBSNJ culture. He also leads the Enterprise Communications and Public Affairs division.

Mr. Aylward brings leadership experience from both the public and private sectors, ranging from the West Wing of the White House to American Express. His public service tenure culminated in his role as Special Assistant to the President and Director, Office of the White House Chief of Staff. In this capacity, Mr. Aylward’s responsibilities spanned the full breadth of strategic policy initiatives and daily operational challenges. Previously, at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Mr. Aylward managed the expansion of bioterrorism preparedness activities across the Federal government following the events of September 11, 2001, and served on the transition team that created the Department of Homeland Security.

Mr. Aylward held senior leadership roles at American Express, where he was Vice President and Chief of Staff for Human Resources, serving as a senior advisor to the Chief Human Resources Officer. Subsequently, he held the role of Vice President, Global Benefits, setting strategic direction for award-winning offerings in health and wellness, retirement, and financial wellbeing in over 40 global markets.

Douglas R. Simpson is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ). Mr. Simpson joined Horizon BCBSNJ in November 2018. In his role, he oversees all aspects of the Company’s financial strategy and actuarial functions, including accounting and financial reporting, treasury and capital planning, investments, tax, budgeting and planning, procurement and corporate real estate, special investigations unit, security and administration.

Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ, Mr. Simpson worked at Anthem, Inc. where he was Senior Vice President and CFO, Government Business Division.

Mr. Simpson joined Anthem in 2012 as Vice President, Investor Relations. He subsequently served as the CFO of National Accounts and led Enterprise Financial Reporting. He was later appointed to Senior Vice President and CFO, Business Operations.

Before joining Anthem, Mr. Simpson spent over 15 years of his career in Equity Research as an analyst covering the managed care and health care provider industries at Wall Street firms, including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and J.P. Morgan.

Steven J. Krupinski is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ). Mr. Krupinski joined Horizon BCBSNJ in February 2021.

Mr. Krupinski was previously Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Facilities at Capital Blue Cross, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for over 14 years.

Mr. Krupinski has a broad and diverse background. He has spent time in both large Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial environments across industries such as high tech, insurance, and information services.

Mr. Krupinski holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Gettysburg College. He and his wife reside in Westfield, NJ.

Timothy S. Susanin is Senior Vice President of Audit, Compliance, and Risk at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ). Mr. Susanin joined Horizon BCBSNJ as Chief Compliance Officer in 2014, and he became the Company’s Chief Risk Officer that same year.

Mr. Susanin was previously the General Counsel of WellCare Health Plans, where he led the Legal, Government Affairs, and Corporate Communications functions.

He began his career as a Navy JAG Officer and a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. Subsequently, he was a partner at an American Lawyer Top 60 firm and a partner and member of management at an American Lawyer Top 200 firm.

Mr. Susanin holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Franklin & Marshall College and a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University School of Law.

I am the Chief Strategy Officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. I lead all strategic planing and execution activities for the company. My areas of expertise include, value based payment transformation, consumerism strategy, business line diversification and operating model development. In addition, I run the firm's venture capital and private equity portfolio, our start-up investments and innovation efforts. Prior to Horizon, I worked at UBS and JPMorgan as Senior Equity Research analyst.