The board of directors of Anthem, Inc., has elected Elizabeth E. Tallett to the role of board chair, effective May 16, 2018.

Ms. Tallett will succeed Joseph R. Swedish, who has served as board chair since December 2015 and, as previously announced, who will retire from the board as of the annual shareholder meeting.

With the election of Ms. Tallett as independent board chair, George A. Schaefer, Jr., will step down as lead director but will remain a member of the board.

Ms. Tallett was elected to the Anthem board in 2013 and has served as the chair of the governance committee since 2015. She also is a member of the compensation committee and previously served on the audit committee.

Ms. Tallett brings more than 35 years of experience to the board chair role, having served as a chief executive officer and in senior management, strategic leadership, and operational roles in health care, pharmaceutical, and consumer products companies. Most recently, Ms. Tallett was principal of Hunter Partners LLC. She also has served as president and chief executive officer of Transcell Technologies, Inc., and as president of Centocor Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Tallett serves on the board of directors at Meredith Corporation, Principal Financial Group, Inc., and QIAGEN N.V.

Mr. Schaefer said, "Since joining Anthem's board of directors in 2013, Liz's extensive breadth of experience has helped Anthem successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges of a dynamic health care environment and we look forward to continuing to benefit from her experience and valuable insight as she assumes her new board role."