Insurance
10 UnitedHealth Group HR leaders
These ten UnitedHealth Group HR leaders include senior vice presidents of people, human capital, talent and compensation, along with vice presidents who run people teams for UnitedHealthcare and Optum businesses. A reader can learn how HR leaders build and run their teams at UnitedHealth Group.
Professionals to explore
01—10Christa Emerson
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, People Team, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual · UnitedHealth Group
Senior Vice President, People Team, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual at UnitedHealth Group since August 2024. Earlier UnitedHealth Group roles include Vice President, Talent, UnitedHealthcare (2019–2024), Vice President Human Capital for UnitedHealthcare Community & State (2018–2019) and UnitedHealthcare Global (2017–2018), and a senior director human capital partner role (2014–2017).
Dan Freiwald
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, People · UnitedHealth Group
Senior Vice President, People at UnitedHealth Group since April 2023. The profile describes leading HR strategy for about 70K employees across Optum Insight technology and product divisions, including org redesign and talent transformation. Former Head of HR for the Data, Digital & Technology Division at Takeda (2020–2023) and Senior People Leader at Boston Consulting Group (2018–2020).
Judy Forker
LinkedInExperience: SVP Human Capital for OptumRx · UnitedHealth Group
SVP Human Capital for OptumRx at UnitedHealth Group; the profile headline marks this role as retired. UnitedHealth Group roles on the profile also include SVP Enterprise Compensation and International Total Rewards, VP-Compensation for UnitedHealthcare and UnitedHealth Group Corporate, and VP-Human Capital at Optum Collaborative Care (2014). Listed specialties include executive compensation, talent management and M&A.
Kari Steen
LinkedInExperience: Vice President People Team Optum · UnitedHealth Group
Former Vice President People Team Optum at UnitedHealth Group (2022–2024), where the profile describes leading a 30 person people team aligning talent strategies to business priorities. Earlier UnitedHealth Group roles were Vice President Human Capital UHC (2021–2022), Senior Director Human Capital UHC (2020–2021) and Director of Human Capital UHC (2018–2020).
Kristin Reichling
LinkedInExperience: SVP, Human Capital · UnitedHealth Group
Former SVP, Human Capital at UnitedHealth Group (2020–2022). Other UnitedHealth Group roles include Sustainability Executive (2022–2025), Vice President, Global Human Capital Services (2016–2020) and Vice President, Talent Strategy & Culture (2015–2016). Now does human resources and change management consulting at Bluebird Partners, with a focus on HR strategy and leadership development.
Nicole Magnuson
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, People Team Optum Technology · UnitedHealth Group
Vice President, People Team Optum Technology at UnitedHealth Group since November 2023. Earlier UnitedHealth Group roles include Sr. Director, People Team (2022–2023), Sr. Director, Talent Strategy & Delivery for United Healthcare (2020–2022) and Director, Talent Acquisition (2017–2020). The profile highlights talent strategy and workforce planning work.
Raelyn Trende
LinkedInExperience: SVP, Strategy, Talent and Innovation · UnitedHealth Group
SVP, Strategy, Talent and Innovation at UnitedHealth Group since July 2025. Former Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Apogee Enterprises (2024–2025). At Medtronic (2022–2024) the profile lists VP, Head of Global Talent Acquisition, VP, Head of Global Talent, and a role covering HR PMO, HR technology, analytics and AI.
Raynee Meyer
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Human Resources (Chief People Officer) | UnitedHeathcare Operations · UnitedHealth Group
Senior Vice President, Human Resources (Chief People Officer) for UnitedHealthcare Operations at UnitedHealth Group since September 2025. Earlier UnitedHealth Group roles include Head of Enterprise Compensation and International Total Rewards (2024–2025), SVP Human Resources (Chief People Officer) for the National Medicaid Business (2020–2024), and finance and internal audit leadership roles (2013–2020).
Sharon Bichsel
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Human Resources · UnitedHealth Group
Vice President Human Resources at UnitedHealth Group since August 2021. Former Sr. Director, Human Capital Partner for Optum Rx (2017–2021) and Director, Human Capital Partner at Optum (2013–2017), and Group Manager HQ Compensation at Target (2011–2013). The profile describes talent management strategy and organization design work.
Timothy Orie
LinkedInExperience: SVP, People · UnitedHealth Group
SVP, People at UnitedHealth Group since February 2022, listed under the Human Resources department. Former Vice President Human Capital at Optum (2018–2022), Vice President Human Resources at RSA Security (2016–2018) and VP, Human Resources at Dell EMC (2015–2016), giving experience across healthcare and technology HR.
Choose the right perspective
Pick someone whose business unit matches yours: a UnitedHealthcare people leader suits insurance business questions, while an Optum people leader suits technology, pharmacy or care delivery questions. Ask a compensation or total rewards leader about pay design and a talent leader about hiring and development.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you run HR for separate business units that share one parent company?
- 02How should a health company design compensation and total rewards for a very large workforce?
- 03What does a people team need to support a technology division inside a healthcare company?
Reaching UnitedHealth Group HR leaders
How can I contact one of these UnitedHealth Group HR leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: UnitedHealth Group, based on profile data retrieved on October 8, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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