Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
Week of March 17
> Cone Health, a nonprofit health system with four acute care hospitals and over 13,000 employees that's now part of Kaiser Permanente's Risant Health, announced President and CEO Mary Jo Cagle, M.D., will be departing the role "due to a serious family health matter," effective May 31.
Cagle was the system's first woman and first physician CEO, having been named to the role in 2021. Prior to that she held roles as chief operating officer and chief clinical officer with the organization.
Cone Health's announcement of Cagle's decision credited the physician-executive with prioritizing value-based care and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It has been a joy and privilege to lead this system. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished to increase access to care, enhance patient safety and care quality,” Cagle said in the announcement. “The future is bright as Cone Health leverages new approaches, capabilities and data to make proactive wellness care affordable and accessible for all.”
While a nationwide search for Cagle's permanent replacement has been launched, Bernard Sherry will be serving as interim CEO starting June 1.
Sherry has been acting as the system's interim chief operating officer since December, with Cone Health noting that a permanent chief operating officer "is expected to be named in the weeks ahead." He has more than 30 years in senior leadership roles at community-based and multi-hospital systems, and most recently served as CEO and Ministry Market Executive for Ascension Wisconsin.
> Manatt Health, the legal and consulting healthcare group of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, continues to add heavyweight talent to its team. Mandy Cohen, M.D., former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Vin Gupta, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer at Amazon Health, has joined the group. Cohen will serve as National Advisor and Gupta is serving as Managing Director.
Manatt said the addition of Cohen and Gupta will fortify the firm’s consulting and legal offerings for clients across state government, life sciences, digital health, health systems and health purchasers. The new hires also will grow Manatt’s capabilities in public health and strategic communication.
Cohen, also a former Secretary of Health and Human Services for North Carolina, brings her extensive government and health sector leadership experience to Manatt. "I want to continue affecting positive change and use everything I’ve learned over the course of my career to help make our world a healthier, safer place, especially as our clients navigate the new frontier of AI and changes at the federal and state levels,” she said in a statement.
Gupta, a public health leader and technologist who serves as a medical analyst for NBC News, will lead a diverse portfolio across health innovation at Manatt. “The collaboration, entrepreneurial spirit and focus on scaled impact made Manatt an ideal fit,” he said.
“Organizations across the spectrum of health are facing unprecedented challenges, which afford new opportunities for real change, whether it is in medical education, hospital-at-home or public health communications. The Manatt team is world class, and I am thrilled to get to work on helping to solve some of the country’s biggest problems in health care.”
> Foodsmart, a nutrition telehealth company, appointed Kurt Knight to the role of Chief Executive Officer. Previously Amwell’s COO, Knight built the company’s national provider group, managed all aspects of clinical operations and client delivery, and helped drive innovative partnerships with government, health systems, and national payers. He was instrumental in the acquisition and integration of four digital health companies, significantly strengthening the company's market position and expanding access to virtual care.
Knight will lead the company’s next phase of growth and his experience scaling Amwell’s digital health platform to serve millions of patients and over 100,000 providers will be key as Foodsmart grows its foodcare service, the company said.
Founder Jason Langheier, M.D. is transitioning to Chief Science Officer. "Through his thoughtfulness, sustained work ethic, and team-based approach, Kurt has been one of the key people that has fundamentally enabled the virtual care industry at scale. We are lucky to have a values-driven leader like Kurt – with a background in nutrition, and a shared vision for foodcare – bring his deep experience to our next phase of growth and impact,” Langheier said.
>Providence announced the appointment of Cherodeep (Chero) Goswami, as chief information officer. He will be starting his role on May 12.
>Qventus announced its appointment of Jeff Evans, former CEO and President of CAE Healthcare, as its Chief Commercial Officer following its $105 million Series D funding round in January, led by KKR .
> Culina Health, a virtual nutrition care company that partners with major insurers and Medicare to serve patients in all 50 states, will announce its appointment of Jane Mentz as Chief Operating Officer — marking a key milestone as the company’s first C-suite hire since its inception.
>TailorCare, a leader in specialty value-based care solutions, has appointed Steve Tutewohl as Chief Operating Officer.
>Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health, has announced his plan to retire following more than 12 years at the helm of one of Maryland’s leading health systems and more than 37 years of dedicated service to the organization. The LifeBridge Health Board of Directors is launching a national search for Meltzer’s successor to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
Week of March 10
> WellSpan Health promoted Patricia Donley, RN, DNP to the role of WellSpan senior vice president and chief nursing executive for the health system. In this role, Donley will oversee the integration of new models of nursing care and work to strengthen nursing innovation and research across the system, guiding key nursing initiatives to achieve sustainable advancements.
Donley has been a part of WellSpan for more than three decades, starting as a candy striper volunteer assisting nurses at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon. Over the years she rose through the ranks to most recently serving as hospital president, and system vice president. Prior to that, she served as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for the hospital.
Week of March 3
> AdhereHealth, a company that works to improve medication adherence and value-based care solutions, restructured its C-suite. Kempton Presley has taken over as CEO. Patrick McNulty was appointed president and chief operating officer, and Chandra Osborn, Ph.D., was tapped as chief experience officer.
> Virtual applied behavioral analysis therapy provider AnswersNow has hired four industry leaders. Kristen Peterson will be vice president of clinical care delivery; Mason Davis will become senior vice president of K-12 partnerships; Tracey Sheahan is now head of revenue cycle management; and Wayne Li is vice president of care operations.
> Factor 7 Medical, a medtech commercialization advisory firm, has tapped five new hires: Justin Rowland as managing partner of sales and marketing; Brogan McGuire as managing partner of product development; Matt Otten as partner of regulatory and quality; Kim Frazier as partner of capital formation; and Michael Cooper as partner of product management and operations.
> Aaron Timm has been tapped as CEO of Openwater, the open-source medtech company delivering portable diagnostic and therapeutic devices at a fraction of typical costs.
> Healthcare cloud-based software company Inovalon has welcomed Adam Kansler as its new CEO.
> Wells Fargo Healthcare Banking announced it has promoted John Teasley to the newly created role of middle market segment market executive.