WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has made permanent the appointments of Tom Cowhey as chief financial officer and Mike Pykosz as president of health care delivery. Each had been occupying the posts on an interim basis.

The interim moves were announced October 13 as CVS Health revealed that CFO Shawn Guertin was taking a leave of absence. In its January 5 update, the company said Guertin is stepping down due to family health reasons. Guertin will remain on personal leave and leave the company on May 31.

As senior vice president of corporate finance and CFO, Cowhey is responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial strategy and operations, including accounting and financial reporting, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, treasury and capital planning, investments, risk management, tax, budgeting, planning, and procurement.

Cowhey joined CVS Health in February of 2022. He previously served as CFO of Surgery Partners Inc., and before that he spent more than a decade at Aetna in strategy and finance roles. Prior to his time at Aetna, he held investment banking roles over the span of a decade, including positions with Credit Suisse First Boston and Legacy Partners Group. Cowhey earned a bachelor’s in economics from Wesleyan University and an MBA with a concentration in health sector management from Duke University.

Since joining CVS Health, Cowhey has overseen investor relations, corporate development, treasury and finance operations, working closely with Karen Lynch, CVS Health’s president and chief executive officer, and others on the leadership team in overseeing financial strategy.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Tom’s caliber and experience already within CVS Health today and ready to take on the role,” Lynch said. “His experience in health care is deep and broad, and he will drive continuity for our strategy and delivering on our commitments.”

Lynch also said that Pykosz is a “natural fit” to lead the company’s health care delivery strategy. “There is real innovation and value to be unlocked as Mike unifies our clinic-based and home health assets,” Lynch said.

While overseeing the company’s health care delivery service offerings, Pykosz has worked to build an integrated, value-based care ecosystem that drives superior health outcomes for patients and applies innovative clinical models to addresses cost of care.

He is a cofounder of Oak Street Health, a network of more than 200 primary care centers across 25 states that delivers care to older adults. Pykosz served as its CEO from the company’s founding in 2012 through its acquisition by CVS Health in 2023. During his tenure as CEO, Pykosz led Oak Street Health through its initial public offering, in 2020, and its acquisition of RubiconMD, a technology platform providing access to specialist expertise. Oak Street Health’s innovative clinical approach reduced patient hospital admissions by approximately 51%, lowered 30-day hospital readmission rates by 42% and reduced emergency department visits by 51% compared to Medicare benchmarks, according to CVS Health.

As president of health care delivery, Pykosz is working to unify CVS Health’s care delivery assets, including Oak Street Health, and MinuteClinic, and identify ways to further leverage the company’s clinical capabilities to improve patient care.

Pykosz previously served as a core member of the payers and providers practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he led projects focused on caring for the Medicare population.

He has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and holds a JD degree from Harvard Law School.

CVS hired Guertin as executive vice president and CFO to succeed Eva Boratto.

He previously worked at Aetna, where he helped the insurer enter new markets and grow through expansion and acquisitions, He was a key leader in shaping and effecting the merger with CVS Health in 2018.

Guertin is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.