Praveen Thadani named Delta Dental of Illinois president, CEO
Praveen Thadani, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Illinois
The Board of Directors of Delta Dental of Illinois has appointed Praveen Thadani as its new president and chief executive officer, effective June 30, 2025.
“Thadani’s deep experience, keen strategic vision, strong industry ties and proven ability to deliver desired business and health outcomes make him extremely well suited for this role,” says Dr. Gene Romo, chairman of the Delta Dental of Illinois Board of Directors. “The entire board has great confidence in his leadership and ability to position Delta Dental of Illinois for future success.”
With more than 25 years of experience in the health care and insurance sectors, Thadani joins Delta Dental of Illinois as a seasoned leader with experience in consumer, commercial and government health plan products.
Most recently, he served as president and CEO for five years at Priority Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., the second-largest health plan in Michigan and third-largest provider-sponsored health plan in the nation.
Prior to his tenure at Priority Health, he held multiple senior leadership positions with national health plans, including Humana, Optum and UnitedHealth, focusing on strategy, market development, revenue management and operations. Recent honors for Thadani include being named one of Becker’s “Great Leaders in Health Care” and recognized as a 2024 Diversity Leader by Modern Healthcare.
“I’m honored to step into this role at Delta Dental of Illinois,” says Thadani. “The dental landscape is ripe with innovation and I am extremely excited about the many opportunities ahead. I look forward to building on Delta Dental of Illinois’ strong foundation with a fresh perspective to enable transformative differentiation while continuing to deliver on our mission to improve health and well-being.”
Thadani has a strong history of community involvement and advocacy at both a regional and national level. Thadani is current board chair for the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) and is active in numerous boards and community organizations, including Chicago Pacific Founders and Anderson Family Care.
While Thadani has served on many boards outside of Illinois, past Board roles in Illinois include Cook County Foundation, Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois HMO Guaranty Association.
With strong Illinois roots, Thadani is returning to Lisle where he raised his family. He holds a bachelor of science and a master of public health from the University of Illinois Chicago and a master of science, health systems management from Rush University in Chicago.
Thadani succeeds John Maples, who will retire after nearly seven years of serving as president and CEO.
