Will Condon serves in a role he never expected to achieve: president and CEO of Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Fla. — the hospital where he was born and, decades later, climbed the ranks to the C-suite.
After graduating from the University of West Florida in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Mr. Condon was hired as a marketing coordinator at Sacred Heart. He was promoted to marketing manager two years later, and, in 2017, became chief marketing and communications officer.
He earned a Master in Healthcare Administration from the University of West Florida in 2016 and was named president of Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in 2019. He has served as president and CEO of the hospital since 2023.
Mr. Condon told Becker’s his career trajectory continues to shape his leadership philosophy today. He shared the lessons he’s learned along the way — and how his local perspective influences the hospital’s future.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: You began your career in marketing at Ascension Sacred Heart and rose through the ranks to now lead the organization. What leadership lessons from your early days still influence your decision-making today?
Will Condon: I never imagined I would be the CEO of my hometown hospital — the hospital I was actually born at. I started out in marketing 15 years ago, really focused on growing our orthopedic sports medicine program for our employed orthopedic surgeons. Over the 15 years, I’ve been given great opportunities and great responsibilities.
But honestly, what it boils down to is people believing in me — great mentors along the way who pulled me into hospital operations. There were a lot of times when I was still in marketing roles for the organization, but a mentor like Henry Stovall, former president of Sacred Heart Hospital, would give me an operations project he needed done. Looking back, he probably wanted to see if I was going to sink or swim with that project.
But all my mentors were a phone call or an open door away, making sure I was making the right decisions as I transitioned from a marketing role into an operational one.
Q: You’ve played a key role in pediatric and women’s services, including opening the new Studer Family Children’s Hospital. What have you learned about delivering high-quality, compassionate care through those experiences?
WC: My first president role was as president of Studer Family Children’s Hospital on the campus of Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola. My first task was to open the doors of our new three-sided children’s hospital that connects to our women’s hospital.
For the first six months, it was all about making sure we had the proper equipment and the patient transport plan in place for the morning of the move. Even down to details like whether the lights worked in each room the week before opening — it was a lot of tactical work. But that really set me up for success in my new operational journey at Sacred Heart.
At the end of the day, what I’ve learned is that it’s my job to break down the barriers and get tools and resources into the hands of our caregivers — whether that’s nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians or others. My job is to make sure everyone on this campus is resourced appropriately to take the greatest care possible of the patients we’re privileged to serve every day.
Q: As someone with deep Pensacola roots now leading one of the region’s most prominent health systems, how do you see your local perspective shaping the future of Ascension Sacred Heart?
WC: My family has been here for five generations, so we are very, very entrenched in the community. Growing up here and knowing a lot of people in the community means we can get things done faster and in a more collaborative way. Whether it’s a program we’re trying to start or a community resource we need, it’s easy for me to pick up the phone — because I went to high school or even elementary school with a lot of these people.
I already have those personal relationships, so we can get straight to business. People know the kind of leader I am, the kind of person I am, and that trust is already there. We can move and implement things much faster in the community because of my ties.
Q: Is there anything else you would share with other CEOs — particularly those navigating similar financial, workforce or operational challenges, or considering a transition in their own role?
WC: My first job is to make sure the organization continues to grow and that we take care of more and more people in Pensacola and northwest Florida.
Two points come to mind. First is staff retention and focusing on associate engagement. I’m very visible in the hospital. I want to hear our staff’s issues and problems in real time so we can fix them in real time.
There are a lot of different healthcare employment choices these days — surgery centers, imaging centers, urgent cares. More and more services are popping up, both through us and the competition, so there are more healthcare employment opportunities than there were five years ago.
We have to do a really good job making sure our staff want to work here, love working here, and have the tools they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently.
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