Michael Niedorff

Michael Neidorff, the longtime chief executive officer of Centene has died, the company confirmed. He was 79. Neidorff had taken a medical leave of absence two months ago and internal Centene executive Sarah London was named chief executive officer last month, replacing Neidorff, who had been Centene’s CEO since 1996. Neidorff had taken on a new role as executive chairman until the end of 2022 and he planned to retire later this year, the company had announced in December 2021. “After a lengthy illness, Michael F. Neidorff passed away on Thursday, April 7, 2022 surrounded by his family and friends,” Centene said in a statement and obituary released on behalf of Neidorff’s family. A cause of death was not disclosed. “Michael was Centene Corporation’s visionary leader for more than 25 years,” the company statement said. “He built a remarkable American business success story and his commitment to providing affordable, high quality health care to the most vulnerable people transformed lives across the globe.”