In a press release that went out on April 15, 2021, Independence Blue Cross announced the promotion of Juan López to be the health system’s newest chief financial officer.

It comes a little more than four months after current President and CEO Gregory Deavens assumed his position as the corporation’s first Black leader. Deavens was officially announced as the successor to former President and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty in September, 2020.

In moving up the ladder, Deavens appoints López to his former post.

“Juan brings extensive financial acumen to the CFO role, in addition to an extraordinary commitment to our associates, our members, the community and the success of our business,” said Deavens in a press release about López’s appointment. “We’ve set ambitious goals to help us achieve our mission to enhance the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve, and Juan’s expertise will undoubtedly position us for success.”

For López, the promotion is 10 years in the making at IBX. He came over to the health giant in 2010 as a controller and senior director after almost 12 years at Cigna, where he was an accountant, and then senior director of IT finance.

Before that, he plied his leadership and networking skills by throwing himself out of his comfort zone. His first position was at Corestate Financial Corporation in Philly (now part of Wells Fargo), where he was part of a group that created awareness around the value of having diverse teams within companies.

López brought all of those experiences with him in 2013, when he received his first major promotion at IBX to be its VP of Treasury Services, and now brings them again as the company’s new chief financial officer.

He’ll have quite the coffers to manage. IBX is the Philadelphia region’s largest health insurance provider, and while businesses in the region on the whole struggled, the health giant saw a 93% increase in net income between 2019 and 2020 (up to $633 million), and a 13.2% rise in revenue (up to $21.8 billion). 

The extra money allowed the corporation to make a $30 million donation to its Independence Blue Cross Foundation — the largest donation in its 10-year history — and a $10 million for its Amerihealth Caritas Partnership.

Outside of IBX, López was honored by AL DÍA as the business archetype during its 2017 Hispanic Heritage Awards, where he was called “the heart of Independence Blue Cross.”

His connection to the Philadelphia region’s Latino community has also never wavered in his ascent up the corporate ladder. He is on the board of a number of Philadelphia nonprofits that support its Latino community, including the Providence Center in Fairhill, and is the executive sponsor of IBX’s Latino Associate Resource Group and Latinos Con Propósito. 

He is the third generation of a Puerto Rican family that settled in Camden, New Jersey, and is a proud LaSalle Explorer.

In commenting on his promotion, López offered praise for IBX on LinkedIn.

“I’m so excited to continue my journey with this amazing company,” he wrote.