Hawaii Medical Service Association President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Hiam is retiring Dec. 1, after leading the company for 17 years.

Hiam will be succeeded by Michael Gold, 65, HMSA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, who has worked at the insurance company for 37 years.

Robert Hiam

Hiam, 64, whose annual salary totaled $1.2 million last year, joined the state’s largest health insurer in 1970 after graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

"During his tenure as chief executive officer, Hiam guided HMSA through the state and the country’s worst economic crisis, protecting HMSA’s financial health while maintaining member benefits and delivering great value," the company said Thursday in a news release.

Hiam is credited with helping to launch HMSA’s online care service and with supporting the transition to electronic health rec­ords for hospitals and physicians.

He also led the company’s initiative to change the way hospitals and physicians are reimbursed through a pay-for-performance model, which ties payments to the quality of service provided rather than volume.

Mike Gold

Gold, also a UH alumnus, was named chief operating officer in 1997 and is the "chief architect" of HMSA’s transformation initiatives as the company prepares to meet the provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act.

HMSA didn’t disclose Gold’s annual compensation. Hiam’s $1.2 million salary in 2011 was up from $855,331 in 2010 and down from $1.3 million in 2009. Executive compensation includes a base salary and pay tied to performance measures including how well the organization delivers health care, customer service and its overall financial performance.