Ellen Gaucher, executive vice president at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, was awarded the Iowa Lean Consortium's (ILC) first Iowa Lean Champion Award.
The award was created to honor a leader who has made significant contributions to lean practices or led a "lean journey" for 10 or more years.
Under Gaucher's leadership, Wellmark has achieved significant administrative cost and medical benefit savings since 2000.
"Lean" is defined by ILC as a collection of principles and tools designed to reduce waste in any process.