Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) announced today that William D. Georges, vice president of Marketing and Product Development, has been appointed to the newly-created position of vice president of Strategic Business Development. The company also announced that Eduardo Lara, who previously reported to Georges as director of marketing strategy, has been promoted to replace Georges as vice president of Marketing and Product Development.Georges joined Horizon BCBSNJ in 2008 as vice president of Investor Relations and in June 2011, was appointed to vice president of Marketing and Product Development. Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ, Georges worked on Wall Street, specializing in the managed care industry as a sell-side analyst for both JPMorgan and UBS Investment Bank. In his new role, Georges will establish new external relationships that diversify and strengthen the company’s business portfolio."With his strong business acumen and prior experience in the financial markets, Bill will play a critical role in identifying new strategic business partnerships and opportunities for Horizon," said Dr. Minal Patel, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Horizon BCBSNJ.As the company’s new vice president of Marketing and Product development, Lara will have leadership responsibility and oversight for Horizon BCBSNJ’s marketing strategy, multi-channel marketing initiatives, product development, customer experience and brand/social media advertising. Lara joined Horizon BCBSNJ as director of Marketing Strategy in 2011. Prior to Horizon BCBSNJ, Lara held senior national and global strategic marketing and advertising positions at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare."Ed has expertly led Horizon’s marketing efforts in the post-healthcare reform era and brings additional value to this retail-focused position from his experience and insights in similar roles with major life sciences companies," said Christopher M. Lepre, senior vice president, Market Business Units at Horizon BCBSNJ.About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New JerseyHorizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.