Klepper Brings the Chemistry

Kenny Klepper, former senior vice president of systems, technology and infrastructure at New York-based Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, says that his current position bears a strong resemblance to the managed-care environment in which he worked for about 10 years. Now president and COO of pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions (Franklin Lakes, N.J.; $13.7 billion in assets), Klepper says that both industries are affected by the strain placed on their business customers by rapidly increasing healthcare costs, and an increased demand for customization and specialization.

Klepper insists, however, that he learned important lessons early in his career managing chemical refineries for Phillips Petroleum (now Chevron Phillips Chemical Company; The Woodlands, Texas). Because of the potentially dire consequences of error in that industry, according to Klepper, "precision is extraordinarily important," as in the healthcare industry.

Klepper is now putting that knowledge to use at Medco. "Over the past few months, we've reduced our software defects by 98 percent, and our [customer] satisfaction is up over 20 percent," he says.

The transformation didn't require major staffing changes, Klepper adds. "It was just a matter of bringing in some different approaches and methods, and allowing a talented organization to be more successful." --A.O.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio