At a number of health systems, the executive in charge of IT no longer carries the CIO title.
Some organizations have elevated their CIO into a broader digital or technology role or split the job between two leaders. The most common titles are chief technology officer and chief digital officer, often with data, AI and cybersecurity folded into the same portfolio.
Here are 14 health systems where an executive with a title other than CIO leads IT and there is no separate CIO:
1. Dallas-based Children’s Health hired David Seo, MD, as chief technology officer in February. Dr. Seo, previously senior vice president and chief digital and information officer at Miami-based Nicklaus Children’s Health System, oversees IT, cybersecurity, digital health, and data and analytics.
2. Simon Nazarian leads technology at Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope as system executive vice president and chief digital and technology officer, including its digital, AI and advanced analytics work. His team built HopeLLM, a generative AI platform that summarizes records for referred and new patients.
3. Jeffrey Ferranti, MD, formerly the CIO, now serves as executive vice president and chief digital, AI and transformation officer of Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health. He led Duke’s enterprisewide Epic installation across three hospitals and more than 300 ambulatory clinics.
4. Sameer Badlani, MD, executive vice president and chief digital, AI and new markets officer of Minneapolis-based Fairview, oversees IT and cybersecurity along with AI, data analytics and informatics. He was executive vice president and chief digital officer before the role expanded.
5. Sayre, Pa.-based Guthrie named Brad Carvellas senior vice president and chief digital officer at the end of 2025 after he held the role on an interim basis. He oversees all IT operations and joined Guthrie in 2020 as chief information security officer.
6. Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners hired Tim Thull as senior vice president and chief technology officer in 2024. He leads IT infrastructure, security and applications for the organization’s health plan, care system, and research and education institute.
7. New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery appointed Ashis Barad, MD, as its first chief digital and technology officer in 2024. Dr. Barad, previously chief digital and information officer at Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, leads digital strategy and technology operations.
8. New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center hired Shakeeb Akhter in May as digital chief from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was senior vice president and chief digital and information officer. At MSK, he is executive vice president, chief digital officer and head of technology, overseeing all digital and technology services.
9. Lauchland Roberts, vice president and chief applications officer at Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, leads the implementation and management of the system’s IT applications and systems, according to his LinkedIn profile. He recently told Becker’s that IT too often becomes an afterthought after operational decisions have already been made.
10. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health named Kristin Myers its first executive vice president and chief digital officer in 2024. Her responsibilities include cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud services, and IT shared services.
11. Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine created the role of senior vice president for data and technology solutions in 2024 and appointed Mitchell Schnall, MD, PhD, a former chair of radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine. He oversees IT, informatics and analytics.
12. Laura Wilt moved from CIO at New Orleans-based Ochsner Health to chief digital officer at Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health in 2023. An executive vice president, she oversees digital strategy, information services, design, innovation and data analytics.
13. Scott Arnold, executive vice president and chief digital and innovation officer of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital, joined the organization in 2010 to lead its largest EHR conversion and previously served as CIO. He now leads technology and cybersecurity strategy, biomedical device integration and TGH Ventures, the system’s innovation center and venture fund.
14. Two executives lead the Information Systems Division at University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medicine: Chief Technology Officer James Forrester and Chief Applications Officer Lisa Nelson, both appointed in 2021.
Note: This list is not exhaustive. To share how your health system structures its technology leadership, email Giles Bruce at gbruce@beckershealthcare.com.
