In the high-stakes world of corporate healthcare, most people focus on CEOs or flashy tech acquisitions. But if you really want to understand how a massive company like Elevance Health navigates the messy intersection of law, policy, and strategy, you have to look at the desk of Blair Todt.
He isn't just a lawyer. He’s the architect of the guardrails.
Actually, as of 2026, the legacy of Todt’s leadership remains a case study in how "Chief Legal Officers" stopped being simple advisors and became core business drivers. Blair Todt served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Elevance Health (formerly Anthem, Inc.) during one of the most transformative eras in the company’s history.
He didn't just review contracts. He helped pivot a traditional insurer into a "health services" powerhouse.
The Path to Elevance Health
Blair Todt didn't just land at the top of a Fortune 50 company by accident. His career path reads like a "who’s who" of healthcare litigation and compliance. Before he was steering the ship at Elevance, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC).
HCSC is a massive beast in its own right—the largest customer-owned health insurer in the U.S. Todt was there from 2016 to 2020.
But even before that, he was cutting his teeth at WellCare Health Plans. If you remember the late 2000s and early 2010s, WellCare was going through some... let's call it "challenging" regulatory oversight. Todt stepped in as Chief Compliance Officer in 2010 and eventually became their Chief Legal and Administrative Officer.
Honestly, he basically became the "fixer" who specialized in building cultures of compliance in places that desperately needed them.
A Career Built on Litigation
Before the C-suite, Todt was a partner at Carter Conboy. He was a litigator. A real one. We’re talking medical malpractice, products liability, and civil rights cases.
Legend has it he never lost a case as a trial lawyer. That kind of background gives a Chief Legal Officer a different edge. When you’ve stood in front of a jury, a boardroom meeting probably feels like a cakewalk.
What Todt Actually Did at Elevance Health
When Blair Todt joined Elevance in November 2020, the company was still called Anthem, Inc. It was a pivotal moment. The world was mid-pandemic, and health insurers were under a microscope.
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He was brought in to oversee:
- Legal Affairs: Obviously.
- Regulatory Compliance: Navigating the nightmare of 50 different state regulations.
- Government Relations: Making sure D.C. didn't pass laws that would break the business model.
- Corporate Governance: Keeping the Board of Directors happy and legally insulated.
In April 2023, the board gave him even more power. They promoted him to Chief Administrative Officer on top of his legal role. This meant he was suddenly responsible for things like HR and "Global Business Services."
Basically, if it involved the internal machinery of the company, Todt had his hands on the lever.
The Payday: Numbers Most People Miss
People always want to know what these guys make. It's public record, but people rarely look at the breakdown. In 2023, Todt’s total compensation was north of $8 million.
Was he worth it?
Well, look at the Carelon transition. Elevance Health rebranded and launched Carelon as its healthcare services brand. That involved massive legal restructuring, trademarking, and shifting billions of dollars in assets. Todt was the one making sure that didn't result in a decade of lawsuits.
He also managed high-stakes litigation, like the trade secret dispute against Molina Healthcare in 2023. That case involved allegations of proprietary Medicare bid strategies being leaked. When your "secret sauce" for winning government contracts is at risk, you don't want a "nice" lawyer. You want a litigator who knows how to fight.
Why He’s Not Just Another Executive
There’s a nuance to Todt’s approach that sets him apart. Most corporate lawyers are seen as the "Department of No." They tell you why you can't do something.
Todt was different. He focused on "how."
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He once described his philosophy as being a "business partner first." It’s a subtle shift in language, but it means everything in a corporate setting. It’s the difference between being a roadblock and being a navigator.
The Education of a CLO
He holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and a B.A. from The George Washington University. If you look at his background in political communication, his ability to manage public affairs at Elevance starts to make more sense. He knew how to frame a legal argument as a public good.
Lessons from the Blair Todt Era
Looking back from the vantage point of 2026, Todt’s tenure at Elevance Health provides three big takeaways for any business leader:
- Compliance is a Competitive Advantage: Most companies see compliance as a cost center. Todt treated it as a moat. By having the best compliance in the industry, Elevance could move faster into new markets without getting bogged down by the Department of Justice.
- The CLO is the New COO: The line between "legal" and "operations" has blurred. Modern companies need their top lawyer to understand the balance sheet as well as they understand the law.
- Adaptability Wins: Going from a private law firm to WellCare, then HCSC, then Elevance requires an insane amount of mental flexibility.
Moving Forward: What You Can Do
If you’re a professional in the healthcare or legal space, the "Blair Todt model" of leadership is something to study. It’s about more than just knowing the law.
Next Steps for Your Career Strategy:
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- Broaden your scope: If you’re in a specialized role (like legal or HR), start looking at how your work impacts the core P&L (Profit and Loss) of your company.
- Prioritize compliance early: Don't wait for a regulatory audit to fix your processes. Build a culture where "doing it right" is part of the brand.
- Study the "Health Services" Pivot: Watch how Elevance and its competitors (like UnitedHealth Group) are moving away from being "just insurers." The legal hurdles in those shifts are where the real money is made or lost.
Blair Todt’s work at Elevance Health proved that the most valuable person in the room isn't always the one making the sales—sometimes, it’s the person making sure the company stays standing long enough to collect the check.