Leadership
MCHA is led by Mississippi business leaders with decades of experience serving Mississippians and their communities, and making lasting contributions throughout the state.
Billy Sims
Chairman
Billy Sims is Chairman of Mississippi Communities Health Advisers. He retired in 2020 as Senior Vice President, Policy Administration for Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. Mr. Sims began his career as an Underwriter in 1977, then served as Vice President of Human Resources and in 2016 was appointed Senior Vice President, Policy Administration where he was responsible for the strategic management of Policy Services, Underwriting/New Business Administration, Claims, and Human Resources at Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. He also serves as the Principal Partner in SST Consulting which supports employers in auditing their Human Resource function to reduce risk and maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
Mr. Sims earned his Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) designation and is accredited by the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and accredited by WorldatWork as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP). Mr. Sims is an emeritus member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and has served on national committees related to Human Resources, Compensation, Benefits, and Insurance Operations. He was a founder and initial Board Chair for the Mississippi Business Group on Health. Mr. Sims also served as President of the Capital Area Human Resources Association (CAHRA) and was the first State Council Director for the State of Mississippi for SHRM. In 2011 he received the Jim Park Business Award from Belhaven University as the Outstanding Business Alumni of the Year and in 2004 he received the Jim Wilkins Award as the Mississippi Human Resources Professional of the Year. Mr. Sims received his undergraduate degree in Business from Belhaven University.
Gene Thomas
Chief Operating Officer
Gene Thomas is the Chief Operating Officer of Mississippi Communities Health Advisers. He has over 30 years of executive management experience working with healthcare, technology, and consumer marketing organizations ranging from startups to a Fortune 500 public company.
Mr. Thomas was Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport from [2008 to 2020]. His responsibilities included all technology assets at the health system, Including software applications, electronic medical record, finance, revenue cycle and biomedical equipment (e,g,, MRI, CT’s, X-Ray). He led the initiative to select and install a $90 million project for a new system wide Cerner electronic medical record, Health Catalysts enterprise data warehouse, and Oracle based HCM set of applications. He was the initial executive sponsor entering Memorial in its first Medicare Accountable Care Organization. He continues to serve as a consultant to Memorial on its Accountable Care Organization and in value-based care and population health initiatives.
Among Mr. Thomas’ other professional activities, he is a Board member and shareholder of Innosurance, a technology company that patented and trademarked the Driver Safety Rating algorithm. The intellectual property was purchased by Allstate and used under the trade name Drivewise®. He began his career at Polaroid and has had senior executive positions at CompuAdd, and Micron Electronics. He was also CEO and Chairman of Avreo, Inc., a radiology information systems company. He later served as President of Advanced Bio/Chem, a proteomics research and diagnostic company. Mr. Thomas has a B.S. degree in Information Systems from the American College of England.