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.
Tenet Healthcare
(Tenet Healthcare)
Saum Sutaria, M.D., has been named as the next CEO of Tenet Healthcare effective Sept. 1. He will continue to report to Ron Rittenmeyer, the current CEO, who will serve as executive chairman of the company and board through 2022.
Sutaria came to Tenet in 2019 as chief operating officer and added the president role later that same year. Prior to joining the system, he had a leadership role in McKinsey’s healthcare and private equity practices, and he's also held an associate clinical faculty position at the University of California, San Diego.
(Tenet Healthcare)
Rittenmeyer served as a director on Tenet’s board since 2010 and was the previous president and CEO of IT services company Electronic Data Systems. He was appointed in 2017 after former CEO Trevor Fetter stepped down.
In the announcement, Rittenmeyer and former Senator Bob Kerrey, lead director of Tenet’s board, said the appointment is in line with a succession plan in development by the outgoing CEO since he first took up the job.
Hartford HealthCare
(Hartford HealthCare)
Chibueze Okey Agba is next in line to become Hartford HealthCare’s new executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Agba has worked under the Cleveland Clinic banner since 2016, initially at its integrated system in Abu Dhabi and later in its Florida market.
He has also held the chief financial officer and treasurer roles at Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children as well as other executive roles at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and Partners Healthcare System.
Agba will report to Jeffrey A. Flaks, president and CEO of the seven-hospital Connecticut system. He will take over for Charlie Johnson, who is set to retire Sept. 27.
Guthrie
(Guthrie)
Debra Raupers and Terri Couts are the latest additions to Pennsylvania- and New York-based Guthrie’s leadership team.
Raupers is returning to the integrated health system to take on the title of executive vice president and chief nursing officer.
In her previous tenure, Guthrie noted that she had helped the Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital secure a Magnet accreditation for nursing excellence and helped lead construction of its Guthrie Corning Hospital. Outside of Guthrie, she recently held a leadership position within Cayuga Health System.
(Guthrie)
Couts, meanwhile, has been promoted to Guthrie’s senior vice president and chief information officer position.
Previously its vice president in charge of the Epic program, clinical systems and integration, Couts has over a decade of EHR implementation experience and helped the system pick up an Epic STARS 10 status.
> Mountain Health Network has announced Kevin W. Yingling, M.D., as the CEO for Mountain Health Network and president of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center.
> UF Health Jacksonville has called Russell E. Armistead out of retirement to head the hospital following the unexpected passing of CEO Leon Haley Jr., M.D., last month.
> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is reportedly adding Manny Lopes as executive vice president of public markets and government relations.
> CareAlign, maker of a task management system for providers, has picked up James Green as its new chief operating officer.
> Nym Health, an autonomous medical coding technology provider, has grabbed Melisa Tucker as its senior vice president and head of product.
> Nuvo Group, which offers a remote pregnancy monitoring platform, unveiled Kelly Londy as its new CEO. Oren Oz, the founder and outgoing CEO, will stay on as chief innovation officer and board member.
> Boston Medical Center named Justin Williams its vice president and chief development officer.
> Hydrogen Health, a primary care joint venture between K Health, Anthem and Blackstone Growth, has brought on Brad Kirkpatrick as chief commercial officer.
> Woebot Health, which developed a mental health chatbot therapy tool, named Kim Goodwin as vice president of user experience.
> Softheon, a software company serving health plans, added Robert Mosquera, formerly senior director of IT for Mount Sinai, as chief information officer.
> NovaSignal, a blood flow measurement device maker, appointed UCSF Health President and CEO Mark Laret to its board.