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.
Prime Therapeutics
Mostafa Kamal will succeed Ken Paulus as president and chief executive officer of Prime Therapeutics.
Currently, Kamal fills the role of president of the pharmacy benefit manager and the CEO of Magellan Rx, a Prime Therapeutics company. Paulus has led the company for the past five years after joining the PBM from Breg where he held the position of director. Paulus previously had the same title at Teladoc and AllyAlign Health.
Kamal first joined Magellan in the strategy, underwriting and analytics department before being named senior vice president, general manager and specialty and chief underwriting officer. He cut his teeth in the area while working at Express Scripts. He played a key role in shaping the 2022 agreement that merged Magellan and Prime, according to the companies.
American Academy of Physician Associates
Folusho Ogunfiditimi will lead the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) as president and chair of the board.
Ogunfiditimi joined AAPA’s Student Academy as a physician associate student over two decades ago. He has spent that time working as a PA in urology. He has also taught in the Doctor of Medical Sciences program at Butler University and held administrative roles in practice management at Florida Healthcare Plans.
Previously, Ogunfiditimi held other administrative roles including associate administrator of the Detroit Medical Center in its cardiovascular institute and administrative director at its adult clinical services and advanced practice providers department. Before moving to DMC, he held managerial positions at Henry Ford Health System.
Talkiatry
Eric Triana has joined Talkiatry as chief compliance officer for the virtual mental health provider.
Triana spent more than twenty years at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) before joining Talkiatry. For the previous 13 years, he has worked in several diversion control program positions as a part of the administration’s regulatory division. Before retiring from the governmental office this March, he held the position of diversion control division deputy assistant administrator.
While at the DEA, Triana helped design programs to identify and detect healthcare industry violators of federal and state laws, including the federal Controlled Substances Act, the Anti-Kickback Statue and the False Claims Act. Triana began his career as a police officer and detective for the Baltimore City Police Department.
"Telepsychiatry has completely changed mental health care in this country, and Talkiatry is at the forefront of bringing access to populations who were previously ignored," said Triana. "With my decades of compliance and regulatory experience, I will ensure that Talkiatry's psychiatrists are always informed and supported in a constantly changing world with confusing and often conflicting information, so they can focus on delivering high-quality support to people across the U.S."
UC Davis Health
Dennis Chornenky has been named the inaugural chief artificial intelligence adviser at UC Davis Health, based in Sacramento, California.
Along with his consulting and technology firm Domelabs AI, Chornenky will lead the establishment of AI strategy at UC Davis Health. He will prioritize key initiatives through the AI and digital systems advisory council and oversee data shared to ensure AI usage within the system is safe and ethical.
Chornenky was previously senior adviser and strategy consultant in artificial intelligence and emerging technology for the White House. He holds over 20 years of business strategizing at the intersection of healthcare and technology with a focus on AI governance. He has also held senior positions at UnitedHealth Group and Morgan Stanley.
> Confluent Health welcomed Kristi Henderson as the company’s new chief executive officer.
> Broward Health said goodbye to Joshua Lenchus who left his position as chief medical officer of the health system.
> CommonSpirit Health promoted Nancy Bussani to executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer as well as president of the CommonSpirit Health Foundation.
> EMD Serono has named Miguel Fernández Alcalde as its chief operating officer for the U.S.
> Homeward welcomed Centene executive Brent Layton to its board of directors.
> Independence Blue Cross promoted Daniel Brown to vice president of provider reimbursement analysis and administration, Michael Hébert to vice president of provider contracting and Obadiah Sang to vice president of corporate development and strategic investments.
> Isomorphic Labs welcomed Pamela Carroll, Ph.D., as its new chief operating officer.
> The Association of American Medical Colleges named its 2023-24 board of directors. Lee Jones, M.D., dean for medical education at Georgetown University School of Medicine, has been elected to serve as chair. Julie A. Freischlag, M.D., chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health, has been named chair-elect and will succeed Jones next year.