Four CFOs were among the 67 leaders Becker's honored as rising stars in healthcare who are 40 or younger and quickly rose within the ranks of their organizations.
Note: This list is not an endorsement of included leaders, organizations or associated healthcare providers. Leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Leaders are presented in alphabetical order.
Niyum Gandhi. CFO and Treasurer of Mass General Brigham (Somerville, Mass.): Mr. Gandhi joined Mass General Brigham during sweeping institutional transformation, nascent financial crisis and global pandemic. Rather than a purely financial background, his career focused on health operations and strategic consulting. Previously, he was New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System's executive vice president, CFO and chief population health officer. His collaboration with providers and payers helped design and implement value-based clinical models, advancing contracting and product distribution strategies and aligning funds flow and physician incentives. His philosophy that finance exists to support operational units in executing against organizational strategy helped transform Mass General Brigham from a corporate holding model to an integrated health system with patients at the center.
Emma Grossman. CFO of Dignity Health-St. John's Regional Medical Center (Oxnard, Calif.) and St. John's Hospital Camarillo (Calif.): Ms. Grossman began her career with Dignity Health in 2020. During her current leadership role, the hospitals have made strategic investments in technology and subsequently grown robotic surgery cases between the two campuses by 61 percent. She has been instrumental in increasing permanent staff after the pandemic and decreasing reliance on third-party staffing. She has ensured that the hospitals prioritize organizational growth and deliver high-quality care with the best possible outcomes. Both hospitals recently earned an "A" hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group and ranked No. 1 in California for coronary intervention and No. 2 for cardiac care and cardiology by Healthgrades.
Josh Repac. CFO at Meritus Health (Hagerstown, Md.). Mr. Repac is CFO for Western Maryland's largest healthcare system, handling and overseeing all of its financial actions. He is passionate about the role finance plays in being able to provide adequate care for patients. At 38, he took over the role of CFO in 2022, previously serving as vice president of revenue cycle and clinical support services. He now oversees finance, revenue cycle, supply chain, OP imaging services, nutrition services, DME provider and physical therapy/rehabilitation departments at Meritus. He helped lead Meritus out of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping it increase its minimum wage to $17 an hour.
Nick Townsend. CFO at Union General Health System (Blairsville, Ga.). Mr. Townsend is responsible for financial strategy, execution and overall performance at Union General, which consists of two rural hospitals, two nursing homes and more than 20 affiliated facilities. He manages more than 100 employees and directly oversees the revenue cycle, business office, patient access, patient financial services and other aspects of the health system. At 37 years old, he has already been a financial executive for 11 years. Under his leadership, Union has seen a 10 percent growth year over year for the last seven years. He has created a financial savings of about $1 million a year.