Centene Corporation announced it has named Shannon T. Susko as its Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. Ms. Susko will be responsible for Centene's communications function, leading the development and execution of all internal and external communications, overseeing corporate reputation and advancing communications strategy in support of the company's business objectives. Ms. Susko is a seasoned communications professional with more than two decades of strategic, corporate and crisis communications experience.

She most recently served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Strategic Situations and Investor Relations and Head of Healthcare for Edelman Smithfield – the financial communications boutique within global communications firm Edelman. As a strategic advisor to boards and management teams of public and private companies, Ms. Susko guided communications strategy during both normal course and transformative situations. She previously served as Vice President of Communications at Global Strategy Group, where she advised clients on strategic communications, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, and issues and reputation management.

She was the founder of Susko & Co, a consulting firm that advised clients in the healthcare and financial services industries on strategic communications, business development and market strategy. Ms. Susko spent a decade at TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a Department of Defense managed care support contractor responsible for the administration of the military's healthcare program – TRICARE. Ms. Susko earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association.