Michele Hooper — Board Member Accountability Profile
Category: Private Citizen — Corporate Director; cross-board profile Role: Lead Independent Director, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH, 2025); Director, United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL) Board Tenure: UnitedHealth: 2007–2025 (not standing for re-election 2026); United Airlines: 2018 – present Committee Memberships: UnitedHealth: Lead Independent Director; United Airlines: various committees Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership); cross-board profile
Basis for Inclusion: Michele Hooper holds documented governance roles at both UnitedHealth Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. — two companies in the Patriot University accountability knowledgebase. At UnitedHealth, she served as Lead Independent Director from 2007 to 2025 (not standing for re-election in the 2026 proxy). This cross-board profile is consolidated per Patriot University’s deduplication rule for individuals serving on multiple donor company boards. This profile documents the factual governance relationships, not the subject’s personal political views.
Subject Classification: Private Citizen / Corporate Director. Board memberships are matters of public record (SEC filings, proxy statements). This profile documents only governance roles and their connection to documented corporate political activity.
Biographical Overview
Michele Hooper is President and CEO of The Directors’ Council, an organization focused on board education and governance for corporations and non-profits. She previously served as CEO of Voyager Expanded Learning, a K-12 educational software company, and as CEO and President of Stadtlander Drug Company, a specialty pharmaceutical company.
Hooper has been one of the longest-serving independent directors in UnitedHealth’s governance — joining the board in 2007 and serving as Lead Independent Director. She is not standing for re-election at the 2026 annual meeting per UnitedHealth’s 2026 proxy. Her concurrent governance role at United Airlines spans federal aviation regulation, labor relations, and post-pandemic restructuring.
Board Roles and Governance Authority
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH):
- Board tenure: 2007–2025 (not standing for re-election 2026)
- Role: Lead Independent Director
United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL):
- Board tenure: 2018 – present
- Committee assignments: Various (see United Airlines proxy)
Parent Corporate Donor Profiles
This is a cross-board profile linking two corporate accountability profiles:
- UnitedHealth Group — healthcare corporate donor profile
- United Airlines Holdings — corporate donor profile
Factual correction requests: If you believe information in this profile is incorrect, please contact factcheck@patriot.university with your name (optional), the specific claim, and any supporting documentation. We review all submissions and correct verified errors promptly.
Investigative trail pointers (public records)
Education only — verify independently. Absence of hits is not proof.
| Channel | Starting points |
|---|---|
| Federal courts | CourtListener / PACER party and attorney searches (spelling variants) |
| Campaign finance | FEC + OpenSecrets for committees and donors tied to documented roles |
| Corporate / LLC | State secretary of state; OpenCorporates for cross-border shells from reporting |
| Sanctions / PEP | OpenSanctions when international business context is already sourced |
| Contracts / grants | USAspending.gov for named entities from investigations |
Use public-records-research-specialist, corporate-intelligence-investigator, and public-corruption-ombudsman evidence tiers.
Sources
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement, filed April 21, 2025; SEC EDGAR (CIK 731766)
- United Airlines Holdings Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement, 2025; SEC EDGAR