Paula A. Price

Paula was re-elected to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Board in June 2020. She previously served on the board from March 2014 until December 2018.  As a director, Paula helps set the company’s strategy and overall direction. Within a highly competitive and highly regulated business environment, the board oversees and governs BCBSMA's operations, which includes the provision of health care coverage to individuals and public and private employers.  Paula serves as vice chair of the audit committee and as a member of the finance and business performance committee.

Paula was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Macy’s Inc. from July 2018 to May 2020, and now serves as Advisor to the renowned retailer.  As CFO, she was responsible for all aspects of Finance and has been a chief architect of Macy’s transformation journey. 

A visiting executive for Harvard Business School since July 2018, Paula was full-time senior lecturer of business administration in the accounting and management unit, having joined the faculty in July 2014.  Until January 2014, Price was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ahold USA, which she joined in 2009.  At Ahold, Price was responsible for finance, accounting and shared services; strategy and planning; real estate development and construction; and information technology.  Price transformed the finance function; delivered a $1 billion cost savings program to fund strategic growth initiatives; and led a team of more than 1,000.

Prior to joining Ahold, Paula was senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer for CVS Caremark Corporation and a key player in the $26 billion CVS Caremark merger transaction.  Previously, she worked in the financial services industry at JP Morgan Chase and Prudential Insurance Co. of America; and in the consumer packaged goods industry at Diageo and Kraft Foods. Paula began her career as an intern in public accounting at Arthur Andersen & Co. before joining full-time, with clients that spanned financial services, consumer packaged goods, and healthcare. 

Paula currently serves as an independent director for public, private, and not-for-profit companies.  Today, she serves on the boards of the following publicly traded companies:  Accenture (NYSE: ACN) chairing its Audit Committee, Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMS), and Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) chairing its Audit Committee.  She is a certified public accountant and audit committee financial expert as defined by the SEC.

Paula serves on the board Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health has previously served as chair of the board of trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay and on the board of overseers of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 

Price earned her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago and her bachelors of science degree in accountancy from DePaul University.