John Paul is putting the band back together.

As Highmark Inc. goes about building a billion-dollar hospital and health care network to take on UPMC, Mr. Paul -- the leader of Highmark's new health care provider wing and UPMC's chief operating officer before departing the system in 2003 -- is relying on several former UPMC executives to build and run the new Highmark network.

That he has turned to former UPMC personnel reflects not only his own three decades of familiarity with the system, but also UPMC's dominance -- if you want to hire a health care executive with knowledge of the Pittsburgh-area business landscape, there's a good chance that he or she is with the UPMC network, or has at least passed through it.

And if you want talent with experience in a vertically integrated health system -- that is, a health system with both an insurance arm and a hospital arm -- there are only a few such major systems in the country, UPMC being one of them.

"It used to be a joke in town that every third person in business was a U.S. Steel refugee," said Jim McTiernan, a principal with Triad USA, a Pittsburgh benefits firm that was bought last month by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. of Illinois.

Now, the same joke applies to UPMC -- which, as it happens, now has its name on the top of the U.S. Steel Tower and is now the largest employer in the Pittsburgh region.

"Because of the size of UPMC and the success of UPMC," he said, "it's an obvious place to find talent."

Today, the talent in Highmark's provider wing -- which will supervise physician and outpatient clinics, medical supply firms and other subsidiary entities, as well as West Penn Allegheny Health System and Jefferson Regional Medical Center, once all of the hospital affiliations are formally approved -- numbers about four dozen employees.

The executive and management team now includes:

Patricia Liebman, an executive vice president of Highmark's "Integrated Delivery System" -- Among her many health industry jobs over the last three decades, she was CEO of the fledgling UPMC Health Plan. She also has experience in the Blue Cross Blue Shield network, working with Highmark predecessor Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania.

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Highmark chief builds staff with former UPMC colleagues