Santiago Estrada and Roberta Capp Take on New Leadership Roles at Blue Cross NC

17 Sep 2021

DURHAM, N.C. - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has named Santiago Estrada as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, and Dr. Roberta Capp as its next Chief Medical Officer. Estrada and Capp, both seasoned leaders, offer invaluable perspective and expertise as Blue Cross NC continues its focus on transforming health care across North Carolina and navigating impacts of the ongoing pandemic.

'Santiago and Dr. Roberta Capp are uniquely qualified, and deeply committed to Blue Cross NC's mission,' said Blue Cross NC CEO and President Dr. Tunde Sotunde. 'Their experience and proven leadership will help us navigate the important work ahead to make health care better for all North Carolinians.'

Santiago Estrada, who joins the executive leadership team, is responsible for Blue Cross NC's operations related to legal, audit, government affairs, health policy, compliance and external communications. He joined Blue Cross NC as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel in May 2020 before assuming his current role.

Estrada takes over for Danielle Gray, who is joining Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Walgreens in the U.S. and Boots in Europe and Asia, as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. She joined Blue Cross NC in 2018 as Chief Legal Officer.

Before joining Blue Cross NC, Estrada served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at IQVIA (formerly Quintiles). Over the course of more than 20 years at IQVIA, Estrada held a variety of legal leadership roles globally, including managing mergers and acquisitions, transactional and business support teams, as well as serving on the board of directors and as lead counsel for the company's largest joint venture. Estrada is a graduate of Duke University and Wake Forest Law School, and he completed the general manager program at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Roberta Capp, who joined Blue Cross NC in January 2020, will assume all clinical responsibility as the company's Chief Medical Officer in addition to her current role of Vice President of Clinical Operations and Innovations. She is responsible for leading the healthcare programs including, but not limited to medical and reimbursement policy, customer group consulting, medical expense management, care management and behavioral health at Blue Cross NC. Dr. Capp will report to the Senior Vice President of Health Care services, a role that will be filled through a retained search the company is now conducting to replace Dr. Von Nguyen.

Dr. Nguyen is set to leave his position as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer on October 1, 2021. He joined Blue Cross NC in May 2019 as Vice President of Clinical Operations and Innovations.

A trained emergency room physician, Dr. Capp helped lead Blue Cross NC's COVID-19 response and has helped drive innovation and operational efficiencies. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, completed her residency at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency program, and completed a research fellowship on health care policy at Yale University.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) is committed to making health care better, simpler and more affordable. We have been driving better health in North Carolina since 1933, working to tackle our communities' greatest health challenges. Blue Cross NC serves its customers and communities of more than 4.2 million members, including approximately 1.1 million on behalf of other Blue Plans. Blue Cross NC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit Blue Cross NC online at www.bluecrossnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.