Karen Ignagni

CEO, EmblemHealth Family of Companies
Leadership Committee

Karen Ignagni serves as Chief Executive Officer of the EmblemHealth family of companies, which has provided access to care for more than 80 years. In addition to its insurance business, the company has built a network of more than 40 primary and specialty physician practices through AdvantageCare Physicians and BronxDocs, and launched WellSpark Heath, a national wellness company focused on bridging the gap between physical and mental wellness. The company also includes EmblemHealth Health@Work, which plays a critical role in serving the occupational health needs of eastern New York, and EmblemHealth Family Dental Practices serve New York State workers.

During her tenure as CEO, Ms. Ignagni has led an unprecedented modernization effort with a relentless focus on the customer experience. This growth and expansion of services has led to many accolades for her leadership in the health care industry, earning recognition by leading publications including the New York Times, City and State, Modern Healthcare, Crain’s, National Journal, Time Magazine, and Fortune Magazine.

Most recently, in 2022, Ms. Ignagni was named to the “Health Power 100” by City & State New York, “Labor Power Players” by PoliticsNY, “2022 Healthcare Heroes” by Schneps Media and “Woman Power Players in Heath IT” by Becker’s Hospital Review. Ms. Ignagni has been named to these lists in prior years, as well as to the “Labor Power 100” and the “Women’s Power 100” multiple times by City & State New York, and has been named to the “Notable Women in Healthcare” and “Notable in Health Care” lists by Crain’s New York Business.

Ms. Ignagni serves on the Digital Health New York Advisory Board and the Institute for Clinical an Economic Review (ICER) Advisory Council. In addition, she serves on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s COVID Recovery Roundtable and his Transition Team for New York City. Ms. Ignagni is a member of the New York State Department of Health’s (DOH) Marketplace Advisory Committee, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) State Insurance Women Leadership Committee, the DFS State Insurance Advisory Board, and the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls. She also serves as Chair of Columbia University’s National Board of Advisors for Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School of Public Health, and from 2016 – 2019, she served on the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Special Medical Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining EmblemHealth in 2015, Ms. Ignagni was President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the insurance industry association that represents providers of health and supplemental benefits to more than 200 million Americans. Under her leadership, AHIP became the leading voice for the health plan community.

Ms. Ignagni also directed the AFL-CIO’s Department of Employee Benefits. She was a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ms. Ignagni resides in New York City with her husband.