Houston-based MD Anderson Cancer Center will institute a new organizational structure that eliminates executive vice president roles and gives senior vice presidents more focused areas of responsibility. The change is effective immediately.
In this new system, senior vice presidents will work with their teams and other departments within MD Anderson to build a more streamlined leadership structure and encourage a collaborative environment.
"Just as we care for our patients in a multidisciplinary way, in this structure, the resources, functions and people are coming together to work toward that same goal," said Steve Hahn, MD, deputy president and COO of MD Anderson. "This structure allows all constituents to have representation on the senior leadership team. It will foster greater collaboration and transparency throughout the institution."
Former EVP Dan Fontaine will continue as a senior adviser until his retirement in January 2018, while Tom Buchholz, MD will carry on his duties as a professor of radiation oncology and Ethan Dmitrovsky, MD, will work on the Cancer Center Support Grant and conduct medical research.
The change comes roughly four months after Ronald DePinho, MD, resigned from the prominent cancer institution. In his parting words, Dr. DePinho took full responsibility for the financial difficulty MD Anderson experienced in the past year.
Last August, the center reported a 77 percent drop in its adjusted income over a 10-month span, then recorded an operating loss of more than $111 million for September through November 2016. In response, MD Anderson shared plans to eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs from its 20,000 and it also called of its collaboration with IBM Watson, which was projected to cost more than $62 million.
MD Anderson made another leadership change in May, when it named Ben Melson senior vice president and CFO.
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