Healthcare exec joins Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Dijuana Lewis was named SVP healthcare solutions at Walmart, the company announced Thursday. She will report to John Agwunobi, who serves as president of Walmart’s health-and-wellness business unit.

Lewis most recently served as president and CEO of health benefits company Wellpoint’s comprehensive health solutions business unit, but was dismissed from the company last fall after a senior leadership shakeup. She spent 16 years with Wellpoint, and that background and insight should prove valuable at Walmart, where she is expected to oversee development of products and services in collaboration with a third-party payer in the healthcare industry.

“Dijuana’s experience developing innovative health solutions, marketing and product development, and provider contracting and relations will help strengthen Walmart’s position as an everyday low-cost provider of healthcare solutions,” Agwunobi stated in a memo.

Lewis will bring a new perspective to Walmart’s health-and-wellness unit, as Wellpoint is the nation's largest health benefits company in terms of medical enrollment, with more than 33 million members in its affiliated health plans and a total of more than 69 million individuals served through all subsidiaries.