Michael Rashid moves on from City’s Commerce Department

When someone gets a big appointment in a city like Philadelphia, of course, there’s an announcement in the newspaper. In the African American community, when someone from our community gets elevated, if you will, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it will be in the newspapers and perhaps on television news as well.
So was the case with Michael Rashid when it was announced just about a year ago, that he would become Philadelphia’s Commerce Director. Michael Rashid was appointed Commerce Director by Mayor Jim Kenney after Harold Epps, the last Philadelphia Commerce Director announced his retirement. Epps, like Rashid, are both African American.
Michael Rashid has had decades of experience as a business executive in the private sector. He has been known as a national healthcare business leader with special expertise in bringing disparate groups together to solve problems. Over the years, he’s helped to develop many successful partnerships between the government and the business community in Philadelphia.
Early in his career, Michael became a pioneer in the managed care industry, serving as CEO of Total Health Care in Baltimore, MD., one of the nation’s first managed care plans. A proven and savvy business leader, he’s held numerous leadership positions of increasing responsibility over the years, including serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer for 15 years before becoming President and CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas, a national leader in Medicaid managed care and other health care solutions for those most in need, in January 2010.
As CEO of the Amerihealth Caritas Family of Companies, Michael Rashid was responsible for the leadership, strategic direction, business development, and operations of the company. At the time, the company served 5.3 million members in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Under Rashid’s leadership, the company doubled in size and scope of its full-risk Medicaid health business from four health plans to nine and expanded its employee base from 2,400 to approximately 4,000.
Michael Rashid’s entrepreneurial passion grew through some of the innovative ventures he started in early childhood development and international health. Most recently he led the turnaround of a mid-west insurance company, doubling its size and tripling its profits in just 18-months. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Finance from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Southern California.
I share all of this with our SCOOP Readers because I don’t want Michael Rashid’s life’s accomplishments to be overshadowed by working as the head of the Philadelphia Commerce Department for less than a year.
Obviously, since he did turn in his resignation to Mayor Kenney and did release a public statement about why he’s left the department. He left for a reason. But I also want our readers to know this:
When a man who is in retirement, minding his own business, is called out of retirement and chooses to do so, to come back to the workforce to “help his city,” and then less than 12 months later, resigns, that’s a moment when you ask yourself, “And why did I come out of retirement?”
Below is the official statement that was released about Michael Rashid resigning from his position as the Director of the City of Philadelphia Commerce Department.
Mayor Jim Kenney today accepted the resignation of Commerce Director Michael Rashid, effective immediately.
“Today I offered, and Mayor Kenney accepted, my resignation as Director of Commerce. My continued service would serve as a distraction from the work of the Department, which is far too important to the city and region,” said Michael Rashid. “I also have had the opportunity to speak with leaders of the Jewish community in Philadelphia and apologize for my previous comments, which were inappropriate and insensitive. I look forward to future engagement with the community going forward.”
In his year in City government, Rashid collaborated with the City Council, Ready, Set, Philly, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Equity Alliance and others, to set forth a vision for the post-pandemic Philadelphia economy that is vibrant and inclusive.
“I’ve accepted Mr. Rashid’s resignation today in light of his inappropriate comments. The work of the Commerce Department is far too crucial—and it’s important that the Department stays focused on its mission of supporting Philadelphia’s business community at this critical time as we continue to recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic,” said Mayor Kenney. “The city is committed to ensuring a fair and inclusive working environment where the values of respect and dignity are upheld.”
Several African American business owners I spoke to about Michael Rashid’s sudden resignation basically said to me, “It doesn’t matter that he’s resigned. He wasn’t doing anything for us anyway.”
Another African American business owner that I spoke to said, “I believe if Michael had been able to stay in that position longer, he would have affected more positive change for small business owners and for African American and other so-called minority business owners. This same businessperson who spoke to me on the agreement of anonymity commented, “What I see is another strong African American man, who is highly intelligent and well educated, who probably bucked heads with some “powers that be” in Philadelphia. They didn’t like the direction he was trying to take the Commerce Department, and so they pressed him until he said something that offended a few of them. But if you look at his track record and all his years of experience and working with all kinds of people from all nationalities and backgrounds, it seems highly unlikely to me, that Michael Rashid is anti-sematic. But somebody downtown was looking to get him out. The good “old boys” network has another notch in their belt, and what has happened to Michael Rashid is “supposed” to serve as a reminder to the next person who comes into a position of some level of power, “Do what we tell you to do and don’t make waves.”
The businessperson I was speaking with who had this assessment of what possibly could have happened with Michael Rashid, and who did not want to be identified for this column, added, “The unfortunate thing is going forward, every time the news media mentions Michael Rashid in the future, they’ll tag this negative story to him, and not highlight all the many achievements he made as an African American man who was president of a multi-million dollar healthcare organization for years, and who accomplished many great and amazing things as a business leader.