Board of Regents approves new UC chief operating officer
January 26, 2015 •
The University of California Board of Regents on Jan. 22 approved President Janet Napolitano’s choice of a seasoned administrator in the public nonprofit sector to oversee key systemwide divisions as executive vice president and chief operating officer at UC’s Office of the President.
Rachael Nava, currently chief operating officer for Central California Alliance for Health, is scheduled to begin her new duties in downtown Oakland on Feb. 9.
“The role of chief operating officer is one of the most critical in the UC system and Rachael Nava is extremely well qualified to take it on,” Napolitano said. “The university is fortunate to get her — we will all benefit from her experience.”
In her new position, Nava, 41, will manage an operating budget of approximately $100 million and a staff of 500, including seven direct reports, while overseeing systemwide Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Energy and Sustainability, Program Management and Administrative Services, and the UCPath Center.
At the Central California Alliance for Health, a $990 million public nonprofit managed-care health plan Nava joined in 2004, Nava was responsible for analytics and technology services, business development, compliance, regional operations, project management, provider services, member services and claims.
Before joining the alliance, she directed the Healthy Kids of Santa Cruz County program, which is designed to provide health insurance to uninsured children, and helped run a federally qualified health clinic for four years prior to that.
Nava, an alumna of UC Santa Cruz, will earn a base salary of $330,000 her first year in the role, increasing to $350,000 in year two and $370,000 in year three, contingent on satisfactory job performance. The appointment salary of $330,000 is 17.5 percent below the former incumbent’s salary of $400,000.
The position will continue to be partially state-funded.
