Mr. Shoptaw, 79, was elected to the Board in 2006. Mr. Shoptaw retired as President of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield ( ABCBS ), a mutual health insurance company, in 2008, terminating his 39 years of service to that organization. During the 1970 s and 1980 s, he served in various management and executive capacities with a primary focus in medical services management, professional relations, and government programs administration (Medicare administrative operations). In 1987, Mr. Shoptaw became the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ABCBS and was named President and Chief Executive Officer in 1994. After retiring as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2008, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ABCBS from 2009 to 2016. Thereafter, he continued on the ABCBS Board of Directors and served as Chairman of the Audit Committee until March of 2022. Mr. Shoptaw received a B.A. in Economics from Arkansas Tech University in 1968, an M.B.A. from Webster University in Business Administration and Health Services Management and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University Business School in 1991. Mr. Shoptaw previously served as a founding board member of the Arkansas Research Alliance, chaired the Board of Visitors of the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, and completed a 20-year tenure on the board of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Most recently, Mr. Shoptaw was chairman of the Little Rock Metrocentre Improvement District board of commissioners and was named to the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame. The Board believes that Mr. Shoptaw s experience and past performance as the president of a large mutual health insurance company provide needed skills and insight into the health care industry and the financial and executive management of a large, successful business enterprise.