Cindy Hundorfean, EMBA

An innovative leader who has worked in bold strokes to get health care right for the patients and communities served by Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Cynthia “Cindy” Hundorfean is the Chief Living Health Development Officer for Highmark Health, a $26 billion blended health organization that includes one of America's largest Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers and a growing regional hospital and physician network. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Highmark Health's 42,000 employees serve millions of customers nationwide through the nonprofit organization's affiliated businesses, including Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, HM Insurance Group, United Concordia Dental, and enGen.

In her role, Ms. Hundorfean advocates for strategies that blend the payer-provider ecosystem, allowing for more proactive, personalized, cost-effective care for patients, and better experiences for clinicians.

Prior to joining the Highmark Health leadership team, Ms. Hundorfean served as the chief executive officer and president of AHN for seven years, from 2016 through 2022. AHN, a 14-hospital, $4 billion health care delivery system, employs more than 22,000 people and serves as the Western Pennsylvania provider partner of Highmark Health. In the CEO role, Ms. Hundorfean oversaw AHN’s five-year, $1.7 billion capital investment strategy, which included the construction of five new hospitals, six new cancer centers, new outpatient facilities, and expansions to several existing hospitals.

In 2020 and again in 2022, Ms. Hundorfean was selected by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the nation’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare,” joining a distinguished list of executives whose work positively influences American health policy, care delivery models, and the industry as a whole. In 2019 and 2022, she was also named one of the nation’s “Top Women Leaders” by the same magazine.

Ms. Hundorfean is a Health Evolution fellow, a member of the American Hospital Association Committee on Health Strategy and Innovation, and an executive champion of two business resource groups at Highmark Health centered on disability, inclusion and women physicians. A native of Kansas, she received her Executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from David N. Myers College.