Frick's tenure at the company was marked by a personal challenge: Barely two years into the job, he was diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer.
"It has sharpened my focus on making the best of every day," he said. "It has sensitized me to what leadership is all about. There's a much broader calling for me than just one company, just one mission."
Frick said he has no specific plans at the moment.
Frick's cancer also provided an unsettling sense of deja vu for the company.
Independence Blue Cross' previous chief executive, G. Fred DiBona, lost a fierce 18-month battle against kidney cancer on Jan. 11, 2005.
Sixteen days later, the board voted to promote Frick, then senior vice president of human resources, to chief executive and president.
"After the unfortunate circumstances surrounding my accession," Frick said, "I decided that if I had the ability, I would provide a succession plan that was orderly and progressive."
Frick's cancer nearly derailed that goal as friends and business associates watched his very public struggle to best the disease that had killed his predecessor. But, Frick said, he's been cancer-free for three years.
Replacing Frick will be Daniel J. Hilferty, a longtime company executive who built Independence Blue Cross' for-profit AmeriHealth Mercy group of companies into the largest Medicaid managed-care organization in the United States, covering 6.5 million people in 14 states.
"As you can imagine, this is a decision I did not make without careful thought and consultation, given the tremendous respect and fondness I have for all of you and IBC," Frick wrote to employees. "But it is the right time for our organization and right decision for me and my family."
