Director
Mr. Wicks has served as a member of Pear’s board of directors since June 2022 and is a member of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Wicks was at UnitedHealth Group until his retirement in 2021. During his nearly 20 years at the company, he held a broad range of executive leadership positions, including executive oversight for Optum Financial (the largest healthcare-focused bank and financial services firm in the United States with over $15B in assets), chief financial officer of Optum ($120B+ revenue), head of supply chain, and president and chief executive officer of OptumRx ($60B+ revenue). Additionally, he held various leadership roles in operations, product management, business development, and strategic relationships at both UnitedHealthcare and Optum. He was also a board member of Optum360, Optum’s joint venture in revenue cycle management with external partners CommonSpirit and Northwell Health. Previously, Mr. Wicks was chief financial officer and president and chief operating officer of Yellow Corp ($5B revenue), the holding company for trucking carriers YRC Freight, New Penn, Holland, and Reddaway and freight brokerage HNRY Logistics. He has held executive positions at Dell Technologies, Bain & Company, and Northwest Airlines. In addition, he cofounded a registered investment advisory firm that developed quantitative investment strategies for institutional clients.
Mr. Wicks has served on the boards of two public companies: Precision Castparts Corp (sold to Berkshire Hathaway for $37B), and Aerojet Rocketdyne. He served on the Finance and Audit committees of both companies and is an SEC financial expert. He is also actively engaged in supporting the growth of several private companies. He earned a BA in economics, with honors, from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business.