Witt/Kieffer, a national executive search firm based in Oak Brook, Ill., has named Andrew Chastain the company's next CEO, effective July 1. Mr. Chastain currently serves as managing partner and chair of the firm's healthcare practice and has been with Witt/Kieffer since 1997.
Mr. Chastain succeeds Charles W.B. Wardell III, who will remain in his position until June 30 and then continue to serve the firm as a senior advisor.
After he becomes CEO, Mr. Chastain plans to continue to work with health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers and other healthcare clients to identify CEOs and other senior executive leaders. He will also oversee operations and strategy of the firm's major practices, including healthcare, education, life sciences and the Witt/Kieffer Advisors division.
Mr. Chastain's CEO appointment is the culmination of 20 years of work with Witt/Kieffer, where he's served as managing partner of the firm's southern and central regions, treasurer and vice chair of the board of directors. In 2016 he received the "Future of the Profession" award from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, which honors professionals who have made significant contributions to the search industry.
Mr. Chastain caught up with Becker's to discuss his new role, as well as some of the major healthcare industry trends and challenges that are top of mind among his clients.
Question: What are some of your first priorities and goals for your first 100 days as CEO?
Andrew Chastain: I am fortunate to be inheriting an organization that is thriving and to do so in a planned full transition. I've been using Michael Watkin's book, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, as a guide. It's a great resource that I recommend to all of my executive placements. Watkins studied exactly where you can make an impact and become an effective leader, week by week. Even as an internal candidate, it's helpful to have resources like this.
So in my first 90 days, my main goal is ensuring our team is confident and inspired by the opportunities we have in front of us. We want our clients to know that we're changing ourselves to meet their changing needs. The challenges placed in front of our clients by reform and innovation are forcing them to evolve. We are responsible for creating solutions to help them thrive in the future. I suppose that's a lot to get done in 90 days.
Q: What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from your predecessor?
AC: Chuck has shared a lot of valuable advice with me. One thing he told me is that CEOs make a handful of very significant decisions per year, but are faced with problems that need solutions every day. If you're focused on all of the small decisions that are constantly coming up, you won't be prepared for the big ones. Instead, you have to give yourself time, deliberate and recognize which are the big decisions and prepare to make them. The rest you delegate.
Q: The future of the American healthcare system remains uncertain right now — there is a lot that stands to change under ACA repeal. What are some of the biggest concerns and challenges you've been hearing about from health system leaders recently?
AC: One thing I hear from clients that's giving them the most angst is the question of how changes made by Congress will impact their most vulnerable patient populations. How much responsibility for coverage will shift to providers? That's a big one. Regardless of the current political machinations going on, we're lucky to have an industry of innovators who are continuously looking for ways to address the nation's healthcare needs. We have great people trying to solve these problems on our behalf.
Another concern, though less related to reform, is that the healthcare industry is going through a period of a lot of consolidation. Organizations are getting much bigger, making it harder for them to change and be flexible. How does a CEO connect with and inspire innovation across an organization that has 60,000 people? It's a lot more challenging than doing so in one with 6,000 people.
Q: What opportunities can health system leaders look forward to?
AC: The optimistic ones look at this time and say, I see the professional challenge of a lifetime. The complexities of the industry during an age of accelerated change pose exponential challenges to healthcare leaders. But just like firemen who run toward a fire, we have leaders that run toward a challenge. The complexities of reform, consolidation and integration create opportunities for those who are willing to take advantage of change. Some are frustrated and burned out from change, but others are inspired by it.
Q: What are some of the most important leadership traits for hospital and health system executives to have during such a tumultuous time of change?
AC: Optimism, creativity and complex problem solving.
A board recently asked us to find a CEO that could identify and solve problems that they didn't even know they had yet. They wanted a CEO who could demonstrate a track record for innovative solutions to new challenges. They weren't looking for someone to transport solutions from one organization to another; they were looking for a CEO who had an importable process for solving complex problems and who could work with the board to develop a vision, a structure to support that vision and produce results.