PacifiCare Taps Texas Executive to Head California Unit : HMO: Jon Wampler will assume his duties as president and CEO by Feb. 1, the chief of the Cypress-based parent company says.

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has chosen Jon Wampler, its top executive in Texas, to be president and chief executive officer of the health maintenance organization’s operations in California.

The appointment, to be announced publicly today, follows the unexpected departure of Jeffrey Folick, who resigned in October as president and CEO of PacifiCare of California to take a job with a large Minneapolis-based HMO.

Wampler, 43, has been president of PacifiCare of Texas since August, 1990, when he joined the company. He will assume his new duties by Feb. 1, said Alan Hoops, president and CEO of PacifiCare Health Systems, the national parent company.

Wampler will now also be a vice president of PacifiCare Health Systems, which has 1.2 million members overall. Half of them are with PacifiCare of California, the company’s principal subsidiary, with the rest in Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Hoops said in an interview Tuesday that Wampler was one of three final candidates. “The thing we liked about Jon is that he’s a team-oriented executive. He’s built an atmosphere of cooperation and teamwork,” he said.

He noted that Wampler, like his predecessor in California, had built up the HMO’s business for Medicare recipients, which has become an important part of PacifiCare’s growth. “We’re really looking for him to provide the glue to maintain the growth of PacifiCare of California,” Hoops said.

Wampler, who could not be reached for comment, has 16 years of experience in the industry. Before joining PacifiCare, he was executive director of Humana Health Care Plans of Colorado. He had also worked at MetLife HealthCare Network, also in Colorado.

Wampler lives in San Antonio with his wife and daughter.