Pittsburgh Review

Highmark Health has announced the appointment of Mark Sevco as president of Allegheny Health Network (AHN). Currently serving as chief operating officer at Sutter Health in Northern California, Sevco is set to join AHN by the end of March.

AHN operates as the $5 billion, 14-hospital provider arm of Highmark Health, a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh. Highmark offers Blues-branded health insurance across four states and various insurance and technology products nationwide.

Sevco's tenure at Sutter included overseeing operations for a significant health system with 24 hospitals and diverse services across six California markets. Under his leadership, Sutter expanded its reach to serve over 3.5 million patients in 2024 while reducing employee turnover.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark back to Pittsburgh, and into the AHN and Highmark Health family,” stated Karen Hanlon, Highmark Health chief operating officer. “Mark is an accomplished, dynamic health care leader with a proven track record of successfully managing large hospital organizations.”

In his role as network president, Sevco will lead AHN’s team of 23,000 employees to advance their Living Health model and support blended payer-provider strategies.

Before joining Sutter in 2023, Sevco held senior leadership roles at UPMC for three decades. He was previously president of UPMC Hospitals and led UPMC Children’s Hospital from 2019 to 2021.

“I look forward to joining the AHN leadership team,” Sevco said. “AHN has a national reputation as an agile, innovative organization that puts patients first... I am grateful for the opportunity to expand that reputation.”

Sevco holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in applied mathematics, business administration, and health administration. He also served as an adjunct professor at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health.