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.
Cerner Corporation
David Feinberg, M.D., will become the new president and CEO of Cerner Corporation on Oct. 1, the company announced Thursday.
He’s slated to take over for Brent Shafer, who had previously said he would be transitioning away from his chairman and CEO roles, and Donald Trigg, the current president who will also be leaving the company.
Although Feinberg will have a membership seat within Cerner’s board, the company said that it is planning to separate the roles of CEO and chairman going forward. As such, William Zollars has been appointed as the board’s independent chairman, also effective Oct. 1.
Feinberg is best known for his leadership roles at UCLA, Geisinger Health and, most recently, Google Health.
In his vice president role at the tech company, he worked to bring together various departments within Alphabet for healthcare projects leveraging AI and consumer hardware.
As president and CEO of Geisinger, Feinberg headed the health system’s shift toward value- and community-based care. He also helmed the adoption of new tech platforms and tools that, among other things, provided Geisinger with new health data analytics capabilities.
UCLA, however, claimed the majority of his career. Over the more than 20 years he spent with the system, Feinberg held a slew of roles—president, CEO and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of its Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
Cerner said the appointment came after an “extensive” search for a CEO candidate and pointed to Feinberg’s background in tech innovation and patient care improvement as key strengths he will bring to the company.
Providence Health Plan
(Providence Health Plan)
Don Antonucci has been selected as the new CEO of Providence Health Plan, effective this September.
Previously the senior vice president of growth at Blue Shield of California, Antonucci was responsible for strategic initiatives across the payer’s consumer and commercial lines. He also managed Blue’s relationships with state agencies and oversaw its commercial underwriting team.
(Providence Health Plan)
Antonucci’s 25-plus years in the healthcare sphere also include a chief business officer at technology solutions provider 10xHealth and other roles within the health insurance industry.
With Antonucci’s appointment, interim CEO Michael White will be shifting over to Providence Health Plan's president position.
White has been a part of Providence for roughly 30 years and was previously the chief financial officer for Providence Health Plan. He also spent a decade at Arthur Andersen, LLP, a public accounting firm.
Mass General Brigham
(Mass General Brigham)
Robert S.D. Higgins, M.D., has been named president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and executive vice president at its parent system Mass General Brigham, effective in December.
Higgins is coming from Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he currently serves as its surgeon-in-chief and led an expansion of its surgical services program across numerous hospitals and ambulatory locations.
Before Hopkins, Higgins was also a chair and director at The Ohio State University Medical Center and served as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps while supporting the Richmond Veterans Administration transplantation program.
Higgins comes to the new position with a broad academic background. At Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine he serves as the William Stewart Halsted Professor of Surgery and the director of its department of surgery. He’s recognized for research into heart and lung transplantation as well as disparities in cardiac surgery outcomes, and has led a number of professional organizations including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Association of Black Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
Higgins will be relieving Sunil Eappen, M.D., who has held the role in an interim capacity since March.
Civica Rx, a social welfare organization backed by major health systems and philanthropies, has tapped Trinity Health vet Bob Ripley as its new vice president of clinical services.
HCA Healthcare has appointed Peter Lindquist as the division chief nursing effective of its North Florida division, effective Sept. 7.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has brought on Joe Scibilia as its vice president of commercial market sales for public sector and labor markets.
Mount Sinai South Nassau is promoting Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President for Clinical and Professional Affairs Adhi Sharma, M.D., to the hospital’s president position. He succeeds outgoing President and CEO Richard Murphy, who is retiring at the end of 2021.
The American Medical Association has hired Sanjay Desai, M.D., as its chief academic officer and group vice president of medical education.
Modern Health, a mental wellness platform, has added Gyre Renwick as chief operating officer.
Buoy Health, an AI health navigation startup, announced Adrienne McFadden, M.D., as its chief medical officer; Brian Kendall as chief financial officer and David Lifson as chief product officer.
Carrum Health has snagged Google Cloud vet Pallav Sharda as its chief platform officer.
Wheel, a virtual care company, has named Tim Kollas as chief commercial officer.
Hinge Health, a digital musculoskeletal health company, has added Ryan Russel as senior vice president of design and user experience and Hassan Asghar as chief information security officer.
Symplr, a healthcare operations software provider, named Kristin Russel as its chief marketing officer.
Rabble Health, a digital cancer patient engagement company, has appointed Diana Porter Bodden to its board.