Health systems have varying priorities when choosing to promote a CEO from within, from clinical or financial experience to tenure length.
Some roles, like the chief operating officer, have historically been considered natural seconds-in-line. But presidents, CFOs, chief medical officers and chief nursing officers might also find themselves in the top seat when a CEO retires or resigns.
In June, Becker's sorted six months of internal promotions to learn which titles most commonly lead to "CEO." Chief operating officers were the most likely to take the helm by a landslide, followed by chief medical officers.
That trend appears to be continuing into 2024 — at least, in part.
When Becker's sorted CEO appointments between December 2023 and February 2024, COOs were still the most common successors. But this time, they were closely followed by "CEO to CEO" promotions, as health systems reassigned chief executives to different projects — and, in some cases, added dual responsibilities to their existing titles.
The following internal CEO promotions have been recorded by Becker's since Dec. 1, 2023.
Editor's notes: Some of these leaders held dual C-suite roles before their promotion to CEO. Their moves are listed under all applicable job titles.
This is not an exhaustive list of CEO moves, and only accounts for internal promotions within a hospital or health system since Dec. 1, 2023. To submit one we've missed, email akayser@beckershealthcare.com.
COO to CEO — 11 appointments
1. Trevor Sawallish was promoted from COO to CEO of Robbinsdale, Minn.-based North Memorial Health.
2. Mary Casillas was promoted from COO to CEO of Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
3. Michael Garcia, RN, COO of Houston Methodist Hospital, was selected as the new CEO of Houston Methodist Sugar Land (Texas) Hospital.
4. Cullen Brown served as COO and ethics and compliance officer of Riverside (Calif.) Community Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare's Far West division, before he was named CEO of Kissimmee-based HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital.
5. Drew Waterman was promoted from COO to CEO of Grand Island (Neb.) Regional Medical Center, part of Lincoln, Neb.-based Bryan Health.
6. Adrienne Joseph, PhD was promoted from COO to CEO of Houston Methodist Baytown (Texas) Hospital.
7. Laurin St. Pe was named CEO of Singing River Health System in Ocean Springs, Miss., after serving as system chief operating officer and administrator for Singing River's Pascagoula (Miss.) Hospital and Gulfport (Miss.) Hospital.
8. Tonya Darner was appointed CEO of UP Health System-Marquette (Mich.) after serving as its chief operating officer.
9. Felicia Turnley was named CEO of Memorial Hospital Pembroke (Fla.). She most recently served as the chief operating officer of Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
10. John Gerhold was named CEO of HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital after serving as COO of HCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville.
11. Brian Helleland was named CEO of Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange (Calif.) and chief executive for the Orange County/High Desert service area, part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence's recently reorganized California South division. Previously, he served as chief executive at Providence St. Jude Medical Center, interim chief executive at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., and COO of Providence South division.
CEO to CEO — 10 appointments
1. Deborah Weymouth was named president of Prospect Medical Holdings' Connecticut operations and CEO of Waterbury (Conn.) Health, in addition to her current role as CEO of Manchester-based Eastern Connecticut Health Network. In her expanded position, she will oversee all three of Prospect's hospitals involved in a pending sale to Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health.
2. Alan Verrill, MD, was named president and CEO of AdventHealth Shawnee Mission in Merriam, Kan. He currently holds the same title at the system's South Overland Park (Kan.) Hospital.
3. Drew Tyrer was transferred from the CEO role at Nashville, Tenn.-based TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center to the same position at Plantation, Fla.-based HCA Florida Westside Hospital. Both hospitals are members of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare's network.
4. Eleze Armstrong was named CEO of Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, Calif. She previously served as CEO of Doctors Hospital of Manteca, Calif.,; both hospitals fall under the umbrella of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
5. Kenneth Rose was named president and CEO of UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook (Ill.), after serving in the same role at Texas Health Hospital Mansfield. Texas Health Hospital Mansfield is operated as a joint venture between Arlington-based Texas Health Resources and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth, while UChicago owns a controlling stake of the AdventHealth Bolingbrook facility.
6. Karl Keeler, chief executive of Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., has taken an additional role as chief executive of the Providence San Fernando Valley Service Area.
7. Brent Burish was named CEO of HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital in addition to his role as CEO of HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital.
8. Brian Helleland was named CEO of Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange (Calif.) and chief executive for the Orange County/High Desert service area, part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence's recently reorganized California South division. Previously, he served as chief executive at Providence St. Jude Medical Center, interim chief executive at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., and COO of Providence South division.
9. Joseph Stuczynski was named CEO of Memorial Hospital West. He most recently held the same position at Memorial Hospital Miramar (Fla.).
10. Stephen Demers was named CEO of Memorial Hospital Miramar after holding the same title at Memorial Hospital Pembroke (Fla.).
Chief medical officer to CEO — 4 appointments
1. Jim McGovern, MD, was named chief executive of PeaceHealth's Oregon network after serving as its chief medical officer. The system is based in Vancouver, Wash.
2. Donald Morrish, MD, was promoted from chief medical officer to CEO of New York City-based Episcopal Health Services.
3. David Lowry, MD, is succeeding Laura Easton as president and CEO of Lenoir, N.C.-based UNC Health Caldwell. He previously served as the system's chief medical officer.
4. James Leonard, DO, was promoted from market chief medical officer to CEO of Valparaiso, Ind.-based Northwest Health-Porter.
President to CEO — 2 appointments
1. John Nickens IV was named CEO of University Medical Center New Orleans, part of LCMC Health, in addition to his current role as president of the system's hospital services.
2. Patti VanDort was promoted from president to CEO of Holland (Mich.) Hospital.
Non-chief clinical leadership roles to CEO — 2 appointments
1. David Linehan, MD, was named CEO of the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center, dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and senior vice president for health sciences. A surgical oncologist, Dr. Linehan joined the university nearly a decade ago and retained his faculty positions — associate director for clinical research at the university's Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Seymour I. Schwartz Professor in Surgery — as he assumed the helm Feb. 1.
2. Theodore DeWeese, MD, was named CEO of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. DeWeese joined Johns Hopkins Hospital as a radiation oncology resident in 1991 and had most recently served as its vice dean of clinical affairs.
CFO to CEO — 1 appointment
1. Scott Tongate, CFO of Macon Community Hospital in Lafayette, Tenn., was promoted to CEO upon the retirement of Thomas Kidd.
Chief nursing officer to CEO — 1 appointment
1. Lisa Van Brunt, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer at Worland, Wyo.-based Washakie Medical Center, will become its CEO when Jay Stallings retires this spring.