Dr. Chuck Powell Memorial Lecture Series
Dr. Chuck Powell Memorial Lecture Series
Steven S. Martin, Managing Partner, Paxton Advisors, L.L.C.
Steven S. Martin is the featured speaker. Born in Horton, Kansas Steve graduated from Horton High School in 1974. He was granted scholarships to Washburn University and finished his bachelor-of-science degree, then completed a Master of Arts degree in Gerontology at the University of Nebraska in 1992. He luckily married a much smarter person and has been a partner to Dr. Amy Haddad for 38 years. He went on to become the CEO of two multi-billion-dollar health care companies - Prime Therapeutics in 1998 and then to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska in 2002 until his retirement in 2018. He has traveled the world, served multiple corporate and not-for-profit boards as both a director and advisor. He has been granted several honors including the Horton High School Hall of Fame and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. Today, he is a retired investor and advisor to several companies and continues to travel and study. Finally, a little-known fact, he was born on the same day, August 14th, as the comedian and actor Steve Martin, but will quickly correct anyone under the misguided impression that he is funny.
Date: September 20, 2021
Time: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Speaker: Steven S. Martin
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Steve is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Paxton Advisors, LLC. Paxton Advisors supports business and education clients through consulting or advisory services. Mr. Martin provides insight and expertise to health care business, health care investors, and educational institutions.
Steve served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and was a member of the board of directors from March 2002 through March 2018. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest health insurance and health benefits administrator serving Nebraskans. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska corporation is wholly owned by Good Life Partners, Inc., a not-for-profit mutual insurance holding company and is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Steve served on the board of directors for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) in Chicago, Illinois from March 2002 – March 2018. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association oversees all Blue Cross Blue Shield licensees serving over 100 million American members under the Blue Cross Blue Shield brand. While on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association board, Mr. Martin served as a member and chair of the Brand Enhancement and Protection committee; member of the Data committee; and, member and chair of the Federal Employee Program Board of Managers.
From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Martin served as the founding CEO of Prime Therapeutics, Inc, later becoming Prime Therapeutics, LLC. Mr. Martin served as a board director of Prime Therapeutics until March 2018. Prime Therapeutics LLC is one of the largest private comprehensive pharmacy benefits solutions company in the country.
Steve served as a board director for BCS Financial Company from 2008 through May 2018 and chair of the board from 2013 through 2018. BCS Financial is a multi-line insurance company based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. BCS products include cyber protection, medical and broker liability, international travel medical, and individual life and specialty health insurance products. Martin also served on the board of directors of Travel and Transport, Inc. from 2006 until the company merged with Corporate Travel Management, Inc. in late 2020.
Steve currently serves as a board director of Wellframe, Inc.; PredictImmune, Inc.; The Commons Project; and, the CyncHealth Foundation. He is an Advisor to Redirect Healthcare, Virta Health, and Health Evolution. Wellframe, based in Boston, Massachusetts, delivers health care consumer engagement through mobile-enabled technology solutions. PredictImmune, based in Cambridge, UK, develops pioneering tools for guiding treatment options in immune-mediated inflammatory disease. The Commons Project, a NYC/Switzerland based not-for-profit, who’s mission is to build digital platforms and services that put consumer interests first.
Steve has served on the boards of many other organizations including: Council of Economic Advisors for the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank; United Way of the Midlands; Salvation Army; Durham Museum; Nebraska Council for Economic Education; Aksarben Foundation; NebraskaLAND Foundation; Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce; Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce; Wellness Council of America; Teammates Mentoring organization; American Medical Association Foundation; University of Nebraska Foundation; and, Washburn University Foundation.
Steve was granted a Bachelor of Science degree from Washburn University a Master of Arts degree in Gerontology from the University of Nebraska, and an honorary doctorate in public service from Washburn University. Mr. Martin is married to Dr. Amy Haddad. Dr. Haddad is currently professor emeritus at Creighton University and previously held the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Endowed Chair in Health Sciences at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Martin is credentialed by the National Association of Corporate Directors as “Board Leadership Fellow” and the “Directorship Certification.”
Past Speakers:
2012: Paul & Lori Hogan, co-founders of Home Instead Senior Care
2013: Dr. Tom Osborne, Hall of Fame football coach & Co-Founder of TeamMates
2014: Glenn Van Ekeren, President of Vetter Health Services
2015: Jane Miller, Chief Operating Officer, Gallup Corporation
2016: Susan Henricks, CEO, ICAN
2017: Sarah Rowan, an inspirational speaker and noted life advocate for individuals walking with forgetfulness
2018: Jane Potter, Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center and Home Instead Center for Successful Aging
2019: Julie Kaminski, Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer for Immanuel Senior Living.
Dr. Chuck Powell
Gentleman. Educator. Navy man. All could be used to describe the late Dr. Chuck Powell, professor emeritus of the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) Department of Gerontology and the man for whom this lecture series is named.
Leadership was a subject familiar to Dr. Powell, who, as a 30-year U.S. Navy commander, participated in the Berlin airlift. Powell found gerontology in the second half of his life, earning his doctorate from the University of Nebraska in 1987 and joining the UNO faculty. “He was a wonderful gentleman and a great member of our faculty,” said Terry Haney Chair of Gerontology Dr. Julie Masters.
The Dr. Chuck Powell Memorial Lecture Series is open to university gerontology students, alumni, faculty and the community. It is sponsored by the UNO Department of Gerontology and through the generosity of Dr. Amy Haddad and Mr. Steven Martin.
The Chuck Powell Memorial Lecture Series began at UNO in 2012. In just a few short years, the lecture series that focuses on leadership has become an annual rite of fall for UNO Gerontology students.