Chutes & Ladders—Federation of American Hospitals, National Association of ACOs and Avalere Health tap new leaders

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.


Avalere Health

Avalere Health CEO Amar Urhekar
Amar Urhekar (Avalere Health)

Avalere Health, a healthcare consulting and advisory firm specializing in strategy, policy and data analysis for life sciences, health plans and providers, has tapped Amar Urhekar as CEO. Urhekar joined Avalere Health in 2023 as chief operations officer to unify the organization and build a global interdisciplinary offering across the product life cycle. Now, 18 months later, he will be responsible for the overall leadership of Avalere Health—organized across three core capabilities: advisory, medical and marketing.

"I am very pleased to appoint Amar Urhekar as our next CEO," said Deborah Keller, chairperson at Avalere Health. "Amar has a passion for purpose-driven organizations that can truly make a difference. He inspires colleagues and clients alike and his extraordinary breadth of health industry knowledge ensures that our business is in the very best of hands moving forward."


The National Association of ACOs 

Emily Brower NAACOS
Emily Brower (Emily Brower, LinkedIn)

The National Association of ACOs’ (NAACOS') board of directors has selected Emily Brower as its next president and CEO, following the retirement of co-founder Clif Gaus, the trade association announced on Thursday. 

The appointment is a change from an announcement NAACOS made in August that named Jeff Micklos to the role. The nationwide search for Gaus' successor was led by then-board chair Brower.

Brower is a widely respected leader and advocate for value-based care and payment models, with more than three decades of experience in strategy, operations and board governance positions in provider organizations and membership groups including NAACOS and the Health Care Transformation Task Force. She is currently senior vice president of clinical integration and physician services at Trinity Health, operating one of the largest and most successful accountable care organizations in the country along with several other value-based contracts and care delivery models.  


Federation of American Hospitals

Don May FAH
Don May (Don May, LinkedIn)

 

The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) announced that Don May has been promoted to executive vice president and will lead FAH’s policy team, effective Jan. 1, 2025. May, who has served as FAH’s senior vice president for policy since 2020, takes over from Steve Speil, who is retiring after 27 years of service with the FAH.


> Infant nutrition company ByHeart appointed Denice Torres to its board of directors, marking a new step into the brand's mission to transform infant nutrition and create a positive impact for parents.

> Health Network One (HN1) announced the appointment of Suzanne Dowling to the position of chief operating officer and president of its HS1 Medical Management subsidiary, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

> Community Health Plan of Washington, a not-for-profit Washington-based health insurance carrier, welcomes its new chief strategy officer, Betsy Jones, to the organization.

> Lifepoint Health announced the appointment of Mike Howard as North Alabama market president and CEO of North Alabama Medical Center and North Alabama Shoals Hospital. Howard has served as interim CEO to the two facilities since September.

> RethinkFirst tapped Paul Bogonis as chief financial officer and Ewan Auguste as chief marketing officer for the SaaS software and solutions provider in behavioral health.

> Sunrise, the leading digital health clinic dedicated to helping individuals with sleep issues from home, has expanded its executive team with the appointment of Laura Warnier as chief growth officer. 

> AllClear ID Health tapped veteran software and data strategy expert Dale Sanders as an adviser and new member of its board of directors. The company launched Health Bank One, the world's first digital health bank that produces personalized health insights.