Barely two months after firing its CEO, health insurance giant Highmark Inc. announced today it will fill the top job with an outsider who once served as assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Officials said the insurer's new president and CEO will be Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., who is now chairman of a health care consulting firm in Alexandria, Va.

Winkenwerder, 58, is an expert in national health policy and health care reform, according to his biography on the website of The Winkenwerder Co.

"We're extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Winkenwerder as our new CEO," said J. Robert Baum, Highmark's board chairman and interim CEO. "We conducted a very thorough search and there were many outstanding candidates. However, given Bill's extensive experience in public service as well as his credentials as a physician and health care executive, he clearly has all of the attributes that we were looking for in a new CEO."

Winkenwerder, who will move to the Pittsburgh area in mid-July, could not be reached for comment this morning.

But in a statement from Highmark he said, "While there are many challenges ahead, I'm excited about the many opportunities we have in front of us -- including our plans to create a new, integrated delivery system."

Winkenwerder's selection to replace former CEO Dr. Kenneth Melani comes as Highmark seeks to complete an ambitious acquisition of money-losing West Penn Allegheny Health System, Pittsburgh's No. 2 hospital system, and build a new health system to compete with UPMC, the region's dominant hospital network.

Several sources told the Tribune-Review that Highmark's board moved fast because the $475 million acquisition's approval could be delayed if the insurer is unable to demonstrate stability in its top management. The board met Sunday to vote on its CEO selection, which some sources said was made with little input from management.

Melani, who began his career as a family physician in the New Kensington area, was fired April 1 after Oakmont police charged him with striking the husband of his girlfriend. Melani, who has completed anger management counseling, is scheduled to appear in Plum District Court on Wednesday, where charges are expected to be dropped.

Winkenwerder served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense from October 2001 through April 2007. He also held senior level jobs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Kaiser Permanente.

At the Defense Department, Winkenwerder was in charge of the Military Health System's 132,000 personnel and was the principal medical adviser to Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. The Military Health System provides care for 9.5 million people.

The names of several out-of-town executives surfaced over the weekend as potential candidates for the job. Among them were Mark Wagar, president and CEO of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest health insurer in New York.

Highmark also considered several internal candidates including Deborah Rice, division president of health services and executive vice president. But filling the position with an outsider could be beneficial to Highmark after Melani's tawdry scandal. The organization needs to show its next leader is someone who will be on the side of the consumers, experts said.

"There's an extraordinary amount of baggage locally," said Jan Jennings, a health care consultant and president of American Healthcare Solutions, Downtown. "Internally, even the clearest thinking person at Highmark is carrying too big suitcases loaded with emotional baggage. You need someone who can think clearly and not be taking sides."

This article was written by Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE.