PM Network - December 2014

WellPoint spotted a major growth opportunity in those historic changes. So in 2012, the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA-based organization acquired Amerigroup, which specialized in managing care for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries. As part of the US$4.9 billion deal, the company gained the engine that had helped power Amerigroup’s unprecedented growth since 2010: its project management office (PMO).

Impressed with the PMO’s results, WellPoint executives charged it with implementing strategy through the organization’s newly created government business division (GBD). Just two years later, the division manages healthcare for 7. 4 million Medicaid and Medicare members spread across 26 states, and it accounts for 45 percent of WellPoint’s overall annual revenue. Tasked with delivering 40 percent annual revenue growth in 2012 and 2013, the PMO delivered—cementing its standing at the company.

“The PMO has garnered a strong reputation for success, and it’s come one project at a time,” Ms. Arcari says. “It took a while for folks to warm up to the idea of having a centralized project management team. But today, we don’t have to convince people to call us—the phones ring on their own.”