When tensions between the Obama administration and the nation’s health insurers were at their highest earlier this year, Ronald A. Williams, the chief executive of Aetna, stood out as one of the few industry voices that still resonated within the White House.
He stayed above the fray even as other executives were drawn into noisy disputes with lawmakers over the health care law.
A soft-spoken executive whose pragmatism and focus on detail are credited with helping turn Aetna around, Mr. Williams advocated for the insurance industry when it was under fierce political attack.