TRAILBLAZER

Karen Lynch is the President and CEO of CVS Health – one of the largest health insurance providers in the US . In 2021 , she also became the highestranking female CEO on the Fortune 500 list

This fact makes the journey of her career , from humble and tragic beginnings to a worldclass business leader , all the more impressive .

A tragic childhood Raised in a single-parent home , when she was just 12 years old , Lynch ’ s mother took her own life , leaving her adolescent daughter and three siblings as orphans . Just four short years later , when Lynch was 16 , her aunt – who had become a guardian for the children in the aftermath of their mother ’ s death – was diagnosed with terminal lung and breast cancer , leading to her premature death .

But , in the face of such overwhelming sadness , tragedy , and upheaval , Lynch was a hard-working , diligent student . She attended Ware Junior and Senior High School , graduating in 1980 .

After that , she moved on to Carroll School of Management at Boston College , where she earned a bachelor ’ s degree in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant ( CPA ). Once graduated , Lynch began a financial career in the Boston office of Ernst & Young , where she decided to specialise in insurance .

Her decision to enter that space was heavily influenced by the grief of her early years . She once told an interviewer : " When you have those personal events happen reasonably early in your life , I had that mission and passion to be able to help transform how people transform healthcare .”

Thirty years climbing the insurance ladder Lynch spent the first decade of her career working in insurance , but then returned to education to complete an MBA . This was a deliberate decision to expand her skills and broaden her financial background to provide her with the tools necessary to run a company .

The move paid off , and , in 2004 , Lynch was appointed president of Cigna Dental , a global health insurance service company .

20 March 2023