Chutes & Ladders — NYC Health + Hospitals taps chief biopreparedness officer; Aledade brings on health economist

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.


NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals today announced the appointment of Syra Madad to the new role of chief biopreparedness officer. In this role, Madad will lead the systemwide special pathogens team in preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery efforts, a press release by the health system said.

Syra Madad
Syra Madad (Syra Madad (NYC Health + Hospitals))

She will also oversee development and implementation of comprehensive biopreparedness strategies and policies to enhance the healthcare system's readiness against biological threats, including emerging and reemerging infectious diseases.

Madad will also develop and maintain robust education and training programs for healthcare workers, focusing on screening, enhanced infection control, patient management and the use of high level personal protective equipment.

Previously, Madad served as the senior director of the systemwide special pathogens program at NYC Health + Hospitals and co-principal investigator of NYC Health + Hospitals Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the health and safety lead of the Enhanced Special Investigations Unit of the NYC Test & Trace Corps.


Aledade

Aledade, the nation’s largest network of independent primary care, announced the appointment of seasoned health economist Gui Woolston, Ph.D., as its first chief analytics officer.

Gui Woolston Aledade
Gui Woolston, Ph.D. (Gui Woolston (Aledade))

He is the former director of Connecticut Medicaid and ran the analytics team for Caremark, the pharmacy benefits manager under CVS. Woolston also has served as director of data science at the health analytics startup Nuna Health. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University.

Woolston will lead Aledade’s business intelligence, analytics and actuarial teams.  He also will oversee Aledade’s governance and management frameworks for data along with the company’s tools for reporting and visualization. 


Accessia Health

Jennifer Noonan
Jennifer Noonan (Jennifer Noonan (Accessia))

Accessia Health announced that Jennifer Noonan has been promoted to vice president of clinical strategy and patient engagement. Hired by Accessia in April 2021, she previously served as senior director of clinical programs and compliance.

A nurse by training, Noonan has also achieved a master’s degree in nursing informatics with a focus on data analytics. She has spent time at multiple health systems including St. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s in Louisville and Jewish Health Center and worked to deploy and improve health technology in those institutions.

In September 2023, Noonan was appointed to the board of directors for the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy.


> ​​​​Don Stanziano is joining Banner Health as senior vice president for marketing, brand and public relations

> Glucotrack, a diabetes medical technology company, has tapped Andy Balo, longtime Dexcom employee, for its board of directors.

> Kevin Harper has been promoted to head of government affairs at Teladoc

> Caire Health, an AI-powered patient engagement platform, announced its new CEO, Eddie Peloke, and chairwoman, Ash Zenooz, M.D.

> Louise Vetter has been hired as president and CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America.

> Arvinas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has hired Andrew Saik as its CFO and treasurer.

> Bionical Solutions hired Tom Tacon as business unit director of Bionical Virtual Engagement, formerly Bionical Solutions Commercial Business, starting July 1.

> Compass Pathways has hired Lori Englebert as chief commercial officer.

> CND Life Sciences has announced the expansion of its leadership team with four new executives: Hernan Lopez, chief operating officer; Kathryn Van Wie, vice president of strategy and business development; Annemarie Benton, vice president of market access; and Bryan May, vice president of IT.

> Jolene Varney has joined SYNERGEN Health’s advisory board.

> Foresite Capital has promoted two team members to partnerCindy Xiong, Ph.D., and Hyung Chun, M.D.—to focus on new investment opportunities in therapeutics.