Burwell adds Citigroup exec to inner circle

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell is poaching another leader from the private sector to serve in her inner circle.

Burwell announced Wednesday that Kevin Thurm, formerly of Citigroup, would join the HHS as a senior counselor this summer.

{mosads}The alert followed Burwell’s hiring of Wal-Mart’s Leslie Dach and Optum’s Andy Slavitt for top roles in the department. Both previously served as executive vice presidents and joined the HHS for broad roles coordinating policy.

“We’re continuing to build on the strong leadership team that exists at HHS and recruit top talent,” Burwell said in a statement Wednesday.

Of Thurm, she said, “Kevin’s decades of broad experience spans business and government with the focus necessary to advance our goals. He brings to the department not only his proven abilities as a leader, but also a deeply-held commitment to our mission.”

Burwell’s management shake-up at the Health Department follows significant criticism of her predecessor, Kathleen Sebelius, for the botched rollout of ObamaCare’s federally run exchanges.

The current hiring spree is seen as an effort to avoid another disaster as the HHS prepares for the law’s second enrollment period.

The new secretary has consistently sought talent from industry and the former Clinton administration, where she served in several top economic roles.

Thurm worked as a deputy secretary at the HHS during that time.