Group Health's Executive Leadership Team provides senior leadership at Group Health. Their responsibilities include setting long-term strategy, monitoring performance and overseeing day-to-day functions.
Scott Armstrong
President and chief executive officer
Group Health Cooperative
Scott Armstrong is president and CEO of Group Health Cooperative, one of the nation's largest consumer-governed health care systems. He has been with Group Health since 1986 in positions ranging from assistant hospital administrator to chief operating officer. He became president and CEO in January 2005.
Armstrong has nearly 30 years of experience in health care. He joined Group Health from Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, where he was the assistant vice president for hospital operations.
He received a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College in New York and a master's degree in business with a concentration in hospital administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Armstrong is a commissioner of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, board chair of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, and a board member of America's Health Insurance Plans and the Pacific Science Center. He is also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Michael Soman, MD
President and chief medical executive
Group Health Physicians
Michael Soman, MD, leads Group Health Physicians, a professional corporation of 1,350 physicians and clinicians who provide and manage medical services for Group Health Cooperative. He continues to serve as the executive medical director of the Group Practice Division, overseeing the care of nearly 420,000 patients in Group Health-operated medical facilities.
Dr. Soman has been with Group Health since 1984. He practiced as a family physician for 17 years, and was a primary care clinic chief for 14 years. He has served as the executive medical director for the Group Health Puget Sound Region, and before that as the medical director for Primary Care, overseeing all primary care facilities.
Dr. Soman earned his medical degree from University of California, Davis in 1978. He has been a volunteer teacher for Bainbridge Island schools, a soccer coach, and was a longtime member of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Scott Boyd
Chief financial officer (interim)
Vice president of Finance
Scott Boyd is the interim chief financial officer and vice president of Finance for Group Health Cooperative. He is responsible for all aspects of the organization's long-term financial integrity. He also oversees operations for the Actuarial & Underwriting, Financial Planning, and Delivery System Finance departments.
Boyd has 20 years of experience in financial management. Prior to joining Group Health in 2008, he was director of Financial Planning & Performance at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado. He also has held positions at Deloitte Consulting and Arthur Andersen.
He received a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Puget Sound and a master's degree in business from the University of Michigan.
Cindy Johnson
Executive vice president
Human Resources
Cindy Johnson is responsible for developing key human resources initiatives that support and link with the strategic plan and vision of the organization.
Prior to joining Group Health in 2006, Johnson was the vice president of Human Resources for Stanford University Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. She has held varying leadership positions at Evergreen Healthcare in Kirkland and the University of Washington. Johnson holds Strategic Human Resource Management certification from Harvard Business School Executive Education and is a fellow with the College of Healthcare Executives. She received her bachelor's degree in education from Western Washington University.
Robert O'Brien
Executive vice president
Health Plan Division
Robert O'Brien is responsible for Group Health's market analysis, new product development, health plan marketing and sales, care-network management, and health plan administration and operations. O'Brien was previously with Mercer, a global consulting subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos. He led Mercer's health and benefits consulting business and advised the Care-Focused Purchasing Governance Committee, an employer-led effort to accelerate cost-and-quality transformation of the nation's health care system. O'Brien has also served as an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark College's Northwestern School of Law.
O'Brien holds a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law. He is an active member of the Oregon Bar, the American Bar Association, and the American Health Lawyers Association. He also is a member of the board of directors at the Puget Sound Health Alliance and the Seattle Sports Commission.
Paul Sherman, MD
Executive medical director
Health Plan Division
Medical director
Care Systems Development
Group Health Physicians
Paul Sherman, MD, leads the process of optimizing Group Health's health plan and care-delivery capabilities. He began clinical practice at Group Health in 1992, and his previous roles include associate medical director of Strategy Deployment, medical director of Consultative Specialty Services, Seattle district medical director, and chief of Pediatrics.
Dr. Sherman is a board-certified pediatrician. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Sherman completed internship and residency at Seattle Children's and obtained his master's degree in health administration at the University of Washington. He currently serves on the board of Giddens School and as board president of Seattle Counseling Service.
Mark Szalwinski
Executive vice president
Group Practice
Mark Szalwinski is responsible for care provided to more than 420,000 members at Group Health Medical Centers. In addition, he oversees one of the region's largest pharmacy systems, lab and radiology operations, occupational health programs, behavioral health services, and is responsible for care delivery information technology and organizational quality.
Szalwinski was previously a corporate vice president at Virginia-based Sentara Healthcare, where he led three hospitals and multiple ambulatory sites, and coordinated a regional physician strategy with Sentara Medical Group. After early career pursuits as a high school science teacher and basketball coach, Szalwinski earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy, graduating summa cum laude from the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). He earned a master's degree in health administration from MCV in 1990, and is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Marc West
Executive vice president
Group Health Physicians
Executive vice president of Care Delivery Systems
Group Health Cooperative
Marc West has served as executive vice president of Group Health Physicians (GHP) since 2005, and in 2011 he expanded his responsibilities to include executive vice president of Care Systems Development.
As executive vice president of GHP, West provides long-range strategic guidance to the GHP Board and leads the Administrative Team in areas of finance, human resources, and information technology. In his leadership role in Care Systems Development, he's responsible for partnering with the health plan, group practice, and other divisions as they develop, align, and implement improvements in Group Health's integrated care system.
Prior to his current roles, West was chief financial and administrative officer for GHP and served in a variety of positions within Group Health Cooperative.
West earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting in 1990, and completed a CPA certificate program in 1992, at the University of Washington. He earned his master’s in business administration from Kaplan University in 2011. He has been a member of the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors since 2004.
Rick Woods
Executive vice president
General counsel
Rick Woods directs the Legal Division, which includes legal, risk management, compliance, and ethics. He also is responsible for the Administrative Services Division, which includes purchasing, supply chain, and facilities development and management. He has served as Group Health's general counsel and a member of its executive leadership team since 1997, and has been with Group Health since 1988.
Prior to working for Group Health, Woods was an assistant attorney general for the state of Washington. He holds a law degree from the University of Idaho and a bachelor's degree in economics from Oregon State University. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys.
