Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato will head the lobbying and public relations efforts of Pittsburgh-based health insurer Highmark Inc. when he leaves office at year's end. Rumors of the move had been swirling for weeks, but the two-term Democrat had consistently declined comment.
On Friday, the 50-year-old confirmed the move to the multi-billion dollar corporation.
Onorato opted to not run for a third term as County Executive. He made the decision shortly after coming off of his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid. Onorato lost to Republican Tom Corbett.
Onorato's title will be executive vice president and chief external affairs and communications officer. He'll supervise Highmark's lobbying efforts, and also its corporate communications, public relations and community affairs operations.
Onorato said that he's "thrilled to be joining Highmark," which has about 3 million subscribers.
