David Duvall is no longer employed by Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System as senior vice president, chief marketing, communications and experience officer, a health system spokesperson confirmed.
Health system spokesperson Brenda Craig said Mr. Duvall, who began his employment with Henry Ford in June 2019, is no longer with Henry Ford. However, she declined to provide any other details. Henry Ford has not named his replacement.
Crain's Detroit Business reports that Mr. Duvall was fired earlier this week and was responsible for the six-hospital system's communications and marketing departments.
Before joining Henry Ford, Mr. Duvall was senior vice president of marketing and communications for Charlotte, N.C.-based Novant Health. Novant fired Mr. Duvall, who subsequently sued the health system in November, alleging Novant fired him based on reverse discrimination, according to The Charlotte Observer.
The lawsuit alleges that Novant replaced Mr. Duvall, a white male, with two minority hires "without warning or cause as part of an intentional campaign to promote diversity in its management ranks," the Observer reports. In November, Novant declined to comment specifically to the Observer about the lawsuit, citing corporate policy, but said the health system "will defend itself vigorously against these claims."
Mr. Duvall did not respond to a request from Crain's for comment.
Read the full report here.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 11:54 a.m. CT Nov. 1. A previous version repeated a false claim that Henry Ford was unaware that Novant fired Mr. Duvall. A letter from Henry Ford says the health system was aware of Mr. Duvall's involuntary separation from Novant, before he started his employment with Henry Ford in 2019.