The company confirmed Thursday that Centene’s longtime leader Michael Neidorff, a pillar of the St. Louis business community, has died.

Neidorff has led the Clayton-based health insurer for 26 years and has grown it into a giant in the managed care industry. Under his leadership, Centene has become a major charitable donor in the region, as has Neidoff himself.

However, Nedorf has also become a lightning rod after criticizing the regional leaders’ approach to crime prevention.

Neidorff had planned to retire from the company that year. He took six weeks off from the company due to illness.

St. Louis Metropolitan Urban League CEO Michael McMillan, who served as the National Urban League from 2014 to 2019, called it a “sad day” and said “there will never be another Michael Nedov.” Chairman.

“He has played an overwhelming role in some of the most important things we do as an institution,” McMillan said.

McMillan said Neidorff, who he has known for about 20 years, helped complete the group’s capital campaign for the Ferguson Center, which was built on the site of QuikTrip that burned down during the 2014 civil unrest. He co-chaired the effort to bring the 2017 Urban League National Conference to St. Louis and pledged $1 million for the effort.

Neidorff lives and works in Clayton, and former Clayton mayor Harold Sanger, who worked closely with Neidorff to help the company build and expand its headquarters in the city’s CBD, says he has “played an important role in Clayton’s growth” “, is “the great man”.

“I will tell you without a doubt that he is solely responsible for the success of this adventure, a great, wonderful, generous man who supported our city and our region in an unparalleled way,” San said. Greg said. “This is a terrible loss, a terrible loss for our region.”

Sanger remembers Nedorf calling him at 11 p.m. The area sparked protests the night after Michael Brown’s death, telling him he had received board approval to build a Centene call center in Ferguson, including a daycare center for workers.

“Who would do that?” the singer said. “Only Michael.”

Originally from Pennsylvania, Neidorff received his bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and his master’s degree from St. Francis College.

In 1996, he became President and CEO of Centene. At the time, Centene was a $40 million company. Centene’s revenue will total $126 billion in 2021.

In July 2021, the company opened a three-person office of the president, including Neidorf, current CEO Sarah London and current Centene president and COO Brent Layton.

Analysts see the new office as a clear signal that the company is beginning its succession planning. That same month, the company later said, Nedov had informally told the board that he could resign for personal reasons before his contract expired.

In December, Nedorf announced plans to retire at the end of 2022.

In February, the company announced that its board had approved Neidorff’s requested sick leave.

He is the husband of Noémi Neidorff, father of Peter Neidorff and the late Monica Neidorff, and brother of Susan Neidorff Reinglass and Robert Neidorff.