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.
BHSH System
Carlos Cubia will join BHSH System to serve as its chief inclusion, equity, diversity and sustainability officer, the newly merged system announced this week.
Cubia comes off five years in a similar role at Walgreens Boots Alliance, where he led the development and implementation of the 400,000-person company’s diversity and inclusion strategy.
He’s also held vice president roles across Covidien, Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and currently serves on the boards of the Chicago Urban League, The Chicago Sinfonietta, Hope Chicago and the National Diversity Council.
BHSH System—the combination of nonprofit Michigan health systems Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health—will task Cubia with developing and leading its inclusion, equity, diversity and sustainability strategies. His appointment is effective June 30.
Signify Health
Paymon Farazi is joining Signify Health to serve as chief product officer, the value-based care technology company announced Wednesday.
He joins with more than 20 years of health and tech product strategy leadership, including 15 years at the director or above level.
His resume includes half a decade at UnitedHealth Group’s OptumInsight culminating in a chief product officer role. While there he led the integration of Optum’s $1.3 billion Advisory Board acquisition and was part of the deal time that acquired Equian for more than $3 billion and placed the $13 billion bid on Change Healthcare.
Signify CEO Kyle Armbrester said in the announcement that his company expects Farazi’s experience with healthcare payment and technology will help the company expand its portfolio of tools and services. He is officially tasked with overseeing the company’s product strategy as well as the design for its suite of payer and provider solutions.
LifePoint Health
Jason Zachariah and Aaron Lewis have picked up the new roles at LifePoint Health following the retirement of nine-year President of Hospital Operations Victor Giovanetti, the system announced Tuesday.
Zachariah has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer while Lewis was promoted to executive vice president of growth and integrated solutions.
The former joined last year following LifePoint’s acquisition of post-acute care company Kindred Health, where he led rehabilitation and behavioral health operations and other services as president of integrated solutions.
His months at LifePoint have so far seen him serve as the company’s president and chief operating officer. With the new post, Zachariah will be heading operations for LifePoint’s key business lines, including acute care hospitals as well as rehabilitation and behavioral health.
Lewis came to LifePoint in 2018 from senior operations and growth leadership roles at RCCH HealthCare Partners.
He was initially hired on as LifePoint’s senior vice president of physician enterprise and strategic growth and most recently served as senior vice president of care continuum and business transformation. That role had him overseeing physician services, contributing to innovation strategy and directing organic growth and strategic partnerships.
The new position will build on his previous responsibilities by adding leadership of integrated solutions functions, such as marketing, development, innovation and IT.
Hackensack Meridian Health
Sameer Sethi is in as the new senior vice president and chief data and analytics officer for New Jersey’s Hackensack Meridian Health, according to a recent release.
Sethi dove into the healthcare space roughly 14 years ago and has since held a handful of operations, data management and analytics positions with provider and consulting services organizations.
Among these were two years at an enterprise analytics and data management program lead at Mount Sinai Health System, three years as a solutions leader in McKinsey’s healthcare practice and most recently two years as the chief data officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health.
Hackensack Meridian Health is looking to Sethi’s multidisciplinary experience with data and analytics transformation projects as it expands its “data and analytics vision.” Specifically, the new executive will help the 17-hospital nonprofit use technology and data to improve care quality and lower care delivery costs.
> The Biden Administration has nominated Arati Prabhakar to serve as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy as well as assistant to the president for science and technology. She previously led the National Institute of Standards and Technology and as director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
> Humana’s Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller Michael Koeberlein is reportedly retiring on Aug. 1.
> Cigna Medical Group, a multi-specialty group practice under the payer’s Arizona business, announced Jeff Holt as president and general manager.
> Sanford Health tapped Brad Schipper as president of operations for its virtual care initiative.
> Lifespark, a senior health company formerly known as Lifesrpk, picked up former Optum executive Matt Nyquist as chief population health officer.
> Providence’s St. Joseph Hospital Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospitals will be losing Chief Executive Roberta Luskin-Hawk, M.D. Providence North California Regional Chief Executive Laureen Driscoll will fill in on an interim basis.
> Spectrum Health West Michigan, part of BHSH, announced Charles Gibson, M.D., as vice president, medical affairs, Grand Rapids.
> Avenda Health, an AI company mapping prostate cancer to inform care, announced Ronald D. Sugar as a member of its board, Carolyn Reul as vice president of sales and marketing and Jemima Escamilla as vice president of business development and growth.
> Regence BlueShield of Idaho tapped Daniel Meltzer, M.D., as executive medical director.
> HCA’s LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, in Virginia, announced Lauren Dudley as CEO.
> Dignity Health’s Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center named Jim Zolnowski as chief nursing officer.
> Penn State Health brought on Leslyn Williamson to serve as regional chief nursing officer for two hospitals, Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center.
> Cone Health, in North Carolina, appointed Jennifer Leach as vice president of managed care.