Andrew Dreyfus

CEO & President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

A lifelong passion for social justice drives Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President and CEO Andrew Dreyfus, who has transformed the state’s largest private health insurer into a rich incubator of diversity and inclusion, nurturing and promoting the careers of women and people of color. Andrew believes strongly that a more diverse and inclusive workforce is directly linked to better business performance.

Today, women hold more than half of senior leadership roles at BCBSMA — including chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief information officer, chief human resources officer and chief legal officer – and people of color and women make up more than half the Board of Directors.

Andrew personally reviews senior hires to ensure a balanced slate of candidates. He has made diversity and inclusion a required component of senior leader performance objectives. Cultural competence is a company-wide priority. More than 1,400 associates participate in employee resource groups.

Long a champion of civil rights, Andrew has taken a leadership role in the discussion of gender equality in the workplace.

“I believe we have tolerated for too long the objectification of women,” Andrew said in a front-page story the Boston Globe called “an incredible reflection from a CEO.” “Men have to step forward affirmatively and challenge other men who cross the line and even approach the line. We can’t be silent. We’ve learned from other big movements silence is the enemy. It was silence that led to the Holocaust; it was silence that led to civil rights abuses.”