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.
Point32Health loses CEO
CEO of Massachusetts-based Point32Health, Cain Hayes, is departing the company. A press release by the insurer says Hayes is seeking other job opportunities.
The health insurer serves 2.1 million Americans and is the second largest insurer in the Northeast. The $9 billion organization resulted from the merger of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan.
A cybersecurity ransomware attack in 2023 on Harvard Pilgrim’s system impacted 2.5 million patients. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and parent company Point32Health have been sued in multiple class-action lawsuits for failing to implement reasonable cybersecurity measures.
Point32Health posted a $150 million operating loss in the first six months of 2024, according to the company’s earnings report, which it attributed to increased drug costs.
Chair of the board, Eileen Auen, will serve as interim executive chair while Point32 searches for a replacement for Hayes. Auen has served as CEO of two healthcare companies, behavioral health company APS Healthcare and pharmacy benefit manager PMSI.
Top American Cancer Society exec departs
The CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS), Karen Knudsen, is leaving the organization. She announced that she will be seeking a different role in the cancer care sector.
Knudsen has agreed to stay on and serve as an executive strategic adviser, to support that transition, through early 2025. The ACS board of directors is expected to appoint an interim CEO before the end of the year and to start a national search for a new CEO, a press release by the organization says.
Knudsen was hired in 2021, and she was the first woman to hold the post. She appointed the organization’s first chief diversity officer, expanded ACS funding of cancer research and helped support cancer patients through the creation of several programs.
Knudsen is an esteemed oncology researcher and focuses on precision medicine and prostate cancer.
“Dr. Knudsen has been a trailblazer in so many ways,” Ned Sharpless, a member of the ACS board of directors, said in a statement. “She was the first CEO of ACS to come from the oncology community, and she brought with her exceptional know-how based not only on her business acumen, but on her understanding of the cancer challenge, and what patients need.”
Longtime UTHealth Houston President says 'arrivederci'
After 12 years in the role, Giuseppe Colasurdo is stepping down as president of UTHealth Houston. He has served the longest tenure of any UTHealth Houston president.
Colasurdo joined the university as an assistant professor in pediatrics in 1995 after completing his medical training in Pescara, Italy. Colasurdo also served in other leadership roles at McGovern Medical School before he assumed the role of president.
Colasurdo grew research expenditures to over $400 million annually and helped improve the admissions and ranking of UTHealth Houston’s postgraduate healthcare schools. He also helped extend agreements with Harris Health and Memorial Hermann Health System in the Houston area.
“It is therefore with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am announcing my intention to step down as President of UTHealth Houston,” Colasurdo wrote in a blog post on UTHealth Houston’s website. “It has been a privilege to work alongside each of you for these past 12 years as our university has grown by every possible measure. Together we have weathered storms both literal and figurative, and I am proud to say that today UTHealth Houston is home to unparalleled talents spanning the spectrum of health care—a testament to the exceptional community and collaborative culture we have built.”
> David Miller will assume the roles of executive vice president and CEO of Michigan Medicine beginning in July 2025.
> HCA-owned JFK North Hospital hired Gianluca Salvatori as assistant chief financial officer. Salvatori formerly served as director of finance and physician HR at Kaiser Permanente.
> Chad Patrick, CEO of HCA's Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, is returning to a former leadership role. He will serve as CEO of HCA Orange Park Hospital in Florida. Greg Lowe, the president of HCA’s North Carolina Division, will replace Patrick.
> The University of Chicago Medical Center appointed Tipu Puri as chief medical officer, Becker's Hospital Review reported.
> Tara Floyd is now the inaugural vice president and association chief nursing officer at Children's National Hospital.
> Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora has selected Jennifer Roth to serve as its next chief nursing executive and senior vice president of patient care services.
> Crystal Calloway Mitchell was tapped as vice president of communications for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
> Prolucent, a Dallas-based leader in healthcare workforce optimization solutions, announced two strategic executive level sales hires: Jason Phibbs as vice president of growth and Darryl Green as senior director of sales.
> Tempest Therapeutics appointed Sheldon Mullins as vice president, regulatory affairs.
> Aegis Ventures brought on Murray Brozinsky as a partner.
> MediChainX announced the addition of NHL hall of famer Jeremy Roenick as an owner of the company.