David A. Jones Sr.

David A. Jones Sr. (1931-2019) was a Louisville lawyer and accountant who co-founded Humana with Wendell Cherry in 1961 and served as its CEO for 36 years, until 1997, and later as chairman. His son, David A. Jones Jr., later served as Humana's chairman.

David A. Jones Sr. led Humana through each of its major pivots: from nursing homes (Extendicare) to hospitals in the 1970s, into health plans in the 1980s, and to a pure health benefits company after the 1993 spin-off of its hospitals as Galen Health Care. He stepped down as CEO in 1997 and remained a major Louisville philanthropist until his death in 2019.