Leaders of Chicago healthcare: 75 people to know

Ayla Ellison -

Here are 75 people, consisting of C-suite executives, physicians and others, who have, through their dedication and expertise, contributed to the shape of healthcare in Chicago.

Judy Amiano, MBA, is CEO of Homewood, Ill.-based Franciscan Sisters of Chicago Service Corp., which operates senior living communities in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois. Most recently, she served as vice president of senior services for Riverside Health System, a nonprofit system, located in Kankakee, Ill.

David A. Ansell, MD, is senior vice president of clinical affairs and CMO of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Before his current appointments, Dr. Ansell was a physician at Chicago-based John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County for nearly 20 years. He is also associate dean of clinical affairs at Chicago's Rush Medical College.

Jim Abrams is the COO at Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline, a healthcare supplies manufacturer and distributer. He began his career at Medline in 1992 as a sales representative and has held several management positions at the company. He was named COO in 1997.

Charles Alutto is president and CEO of Stericycle in Lake Forest, Ill., a position he has held since January 2013. He began his career at Stericycle, a compliance company, in 1997. Before being named CEO, Mr. Allutto held various other executive positions with the company, including vice president.

Tim Baker is the president of Principle Valuation in Chicago, a position he has held since 2007. Before coming to Principle Valuation, he was senior vice president of Chicago-based Wellspring Valuation.

F. Michael Ball is CEO of Hospira, a pharmaceutical and medical device company, in Lake Forest, Ill. He has been the company's CEO since March 2011. Before joining Hospira, Mr. Ball served as president of Allegran, Inc., a multispecialty healthcare company.

Bryan Becker, MD, is associate vice president for hospital operations and CEO of University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago, a position he has held since 2012. Dr. Becker served as the president of the National Kidney Foundation and chairman of its scientific advisory committee board from 2008 to 2010, and he remains a member of the foundation's board.

Paul Black is CEO of Chicago-based Allscripts. Mr. Black was appointed CEO of Allscripts in December 2012 after having served on the company's Board of Directors for eight months. Prior to joining Allscripts, Mr. Black had a 13-year career with Cerner, where he held various executive positions.

Sandra Bruce is president and CEO of Chicago-based Presence Health. Ms. Bruce was named to her current position when Presence Health was formed in November 2011. Before then, she served as president and CEO of Resurrection Health Care in Chicago, which is now part of Presence Health.

Peter Butler is president and COO of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Mr. Butler has helped lead Rush University Medical Center since 2004. Prior to his appointment at Rush University Medical Center, Mr. Butler served as president of Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, Ill.

Charles A. Bush-Joseph, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician who performs the majority of his cases at Rush SurgiCenter in Chicago. Dr. Bush-Joseph is head team physician for the Chicago White Sox and an associate team physician for the Chicago Bulls.

Edward Case is the executive vice president and CFO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Before joining RIC, Mr. Case was the president and owner of Healthcare Resource Associates in Charlotte, N.C. Mr. Case also served as president and CEO of Presbyterian Healthcare in Charlotte.

Alan Channing is the former CEO of Sinai Health System in Chicago, a position he held for 10 years. Mr. Channing joined Sinai Health System in 2004 after service seven years as CEO of St. Vincent Charity Hospital and St. Luke's Medical Center in Cleveland.

Brian Cole, MD, is the head of the cartilage restoration center, a multidisciplinary program specializing in the restoration of articular cartilage and meniscal deficiency, at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Chicago. He has developed several innovative techniques for the treatment of shoulder, elbow and knee conditions. Dr. Cole has published more than 1,000 articles.

Pamela Davis is system CEO of Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill./Elmhurst (Ill.) Memorial Healthcare. Ms. Davis has held her position since the 2013 merger of Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Memorial.

Linda Deering, RN, is president of Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Ill. She had served as the hospital's COO since 2006 and was named to her current position in December 2013. Before joining Advocate Health Care, she was vice president of patient services, CNO and chief clinical officer at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Ill., and executive director of patient services at St. Joseph's Hospital in Elgin, Ill.

Daniel Derman, MD, is president of Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group in Chicago. Dr. Derman founded Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group, a 65-physician primary care and multispecialty group, in 1993. He is also the vice president of operations for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Melanie Dreher, Phd, serves as the dean of the College of Nursing at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She also chairs the board of Livonia, Mich.-based CHE Trinity Health, the second-largest Catholic health system in the U.S. Previously, she served as nursing school dean at three other large state universities: University of Iowa in Iowa City, University of Massachusetts in Amherst and University of Miami.

Howard Drenth is the CEO of Presence Medical Group in Chicago. He joined Presence Health in January 2013. Before then, he spent six years with Kattering Health Network in Dayton, Ohio, where he most recently served as vice president of physician services for Kettering's hospital-owned multispecialty physician network.

Brent J. Estes is president and CEO of Chicago-based Rush Health. Mr. Estes has also served as senior vice president of business and network development at Rush University Medical Center since 2012, and as vice president of Rush System for Health since 2001.

Tony Filer is the CFO of Presence Health in Chicago. Before beginning his current role, Mr. Filer served as system CFO and later COO of Mokena, Ill.-based Provena Health. He also previously served as vice president of operational finance for Ascension Health in St. Louis.

David Fox is president of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer's Grove, Ill. Mr. Fox has led Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital since 2003, helping the 340-bed hospital attain the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2010.

Tom Freyman is executive vice president and CFO of Abbot Laboratories in Abbot Park, Ill. Mr. Freyman has served as CFO of Abbot, a pharmaceuticals and healthcare products company, since 2001. Prior to being named CFO, Mr. Freyman served as vice president and controller of Abbot's Hospital Products Division.

J.P. Gallagher is COO of Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem. Mr. Gallagher has served as COO of the health system since 2012. Prior to being named COO, Mr. Gallagher served as president of Evanston Hospital for four years.

Joseph Golbus, MD, is president and CEO of NorthShore Medical Group, a physician group with more than 900 physicians based in Evanston, Ill. Dr. Golbus has led the medical group since 1998. He is also a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Larry Goldberg is president and CEO of Maywood, Ill.-based Loyola University Health System. Mr. Goldberg has served the health system since 2011. Prior to beginning his career at Loyola University Health System, Mr. Goldberg served as CEO of Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tenn.

Larry Goodman, MD, is CEO of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Goodman has been an administrator at Rush University and the Rush System for Health for nearly 15 years, serving as CEO of Rush University Medical Center and president of the university since 2002. He previously worked as medical director of Cook County Hospital.

Jesse Peterson Hall is president of NorthShore Highland Park (Ill.) Hospital, and he has been with NorthShore since 2002. Before then, Mr. Hall served in administrative roles at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., and Memorial Health Services in Long Beach, Calif.

M. Hill Hammock is director of Cook County Health & Hospitals System. Mr. Hammock was appointed as director in June 2013. Mr. Hill retired as vice chairman and COO of LaSalle Bank in 2007 and then served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Chicago Public Schools.

Dean Harrison is president and CEO of Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. Mr. Harrison came to Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, the parent corporation for Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in July 1998. Before then, he served as president and COO of the University of Chicago Health System.

Andrew Hayek is president and CEO of Surgical Care Affiliates in Deerfield, Ill., a position he has held since 2008. Before joining the company, Mr. Hayek served as the president of a division of Denver-based DaVita Healthcare Partners — a renal dialysis and medical group provider — and as president and COO of Newport, Calif.-based Alliance Healthcare Services, a diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy provider.

David W. Hecht, MD, MS, MBA, is the senior vice president for clinical affairs and CMO of Chicago-based Loyola University Health System. Dr. Hecht was appointed to his position at Loyola in 2013 after serving as interim senior vice president for clinical affairs since early 2012.

Richard Gannotta is senior vice president of Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and president of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Before joining Northwestern, Mr. Gannotta served as president of Duke Raleigh (N.C.) Hospital, which is part of the Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System.

W. Michael Karnes is CFO of Regent Surgical Health in Westchester, Ill, a company he co-founded in 2001. Prior to co-founding Regent, Mr. Karnes served as chief administrative officer of GTCR-Golder Rauner, one of the largest venture capital firms in the U.S.

Kenneth Kaufman is managing director and chair of Chicago-based Kaufman Hall, a management consulting firm that provides advisory services and software to hospitals and health systems nationwide. He has given more than 400 presentations at meetings such as those organized by the American College of Healthcare Executives, and he has authored or co-authored six books.

Michael D. Kelleher, MD, is CMO of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Kelleher was appointed CMO of the hospital in 2013 after serving as interim CMO in September 2012. He previously served as the hospital's CMIO.

Lawrence Kosinksi, MD, MBA, is president of Elgin (Ill.) Gastroenterology Endoscopy Center and a managing partner of the Illinois Gastroenterology Group. He also serves as a member of the advisory board of the Illinois Health Information Exchange.

Charles S. Lauer was the publisher of Modern Healthcare, based in Chicago, for more than 32 years. Most recently, Mr. Lauer served as corporate vice president of Detroit-based Crain Communications, which owns Modern Healthcare. Mr. Lauer is now an author, public speaker and career coach.

H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, is president and CEO of Chicago-based HIMSS, a nonprofit organization focused on better health through IT. He has held his position since 2000.

Ann Lurie is president of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation in Chicago that provides funding for projects Ms. Lurie is passionate about and are aligned with a template she and her late husband Robert Lurie developed before he died. In 2007, Ms. Lurie donated $100 million to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

James L. Madara, MD, is executive vice president and CEO of the Chicago-based American Medical Association. He began serving in his current role in 2011. Mr. Madara is an accomplished academic medical center physician and medical scientists.

Thomas Mallon is CEO of Regent Surgical Health, a company he co-founded in 2001. The company — which has grown to develop, manage and own 21 ambulatory centers — specializes in working with physicians and hospitals in the development, management and turnaround of ASCs.

Barbara Martin has served as president and CEO of Waukegan, Ill.-based Vista Health System since 2006. As president and CEO, Ms. Martin oversees two hospitals — Vista Medical Center East and Vista Medical Center West. Before being named CEO, Ms. Martin served as COO of Vista Health.

Peter McCanna serves as COO of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Mr. McCanna first joined Northwestern Memorial in August 2002. He has served in various other healthcare settings, including CFO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, N.M., and CFO of the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.

Sonia Mehta, MD, is CEO and CMO of Loretto Hospital in Chicago, a position she has held since 2012. She joined the hospital after serving as president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System Illinois/Wisconsin Medical Group in Springfield, Ill.

Charlie Mills is the CEO of Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline, a position he has held since 1997. Mr. Mills joined Medline in 1986 as a sales representative. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Mills was in sales management with IBM.

Andy Mills is president of Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline. He began his career with Medline as a sales representative and has held several management positions at the company. He was named president in 1997.

Kristin Murtos is president and CEO of NorthShore Skokie (Ill.) Hospital, a part of Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem. Ms. Murtos has led the hospital since 2009, and she has been with NorthShore University HealthSystem since 1998.

Dominic J. Nakis serves as senior vice president, treasurer and CFO of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care. Mr. Nakis joined Evangelical Health System in 1995, which later merged with Advocate Health Care.

Nina Nashif is the CEO and founder of Healthbox in Chicago, a company that aims at providing resources to healthcare technology startups. Ms. Nashif has more than 15 years of global business experience in more than 10 countries. Prior to Healthbox, she was a consultant to the leadership team of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi and worked as a director of business development in the International Services Division of Houston Methodist Hospital.

Mark Neaman is president and CEO of Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem, a four-hospital system. Mr. Neaman has led the health system since 1992. He has spent his entire career with NorthShore University HealthSystem since joining Evanston Hospital in 1974.

Mark Newton is president and CEO of Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, a position he has held since 2000. He is also chair of the Chicago Hospital Risk Pooling Program and chair of the Association of Community Safety Net Hospitals.

Joe Nolan serves on the board of directors at Capella Healthcare in Chicago. He is the founder and managing director of Beverly Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm. Mr. Nolan has served on Capella Healthcare's board since the company's founding in May 2005.  

Sean O'Grady is president of NorthShore Glenbrook (Ill.) Hospital. He began his career with NorthShore in 2007. Before then, Mr. O'Grady was the vice president of operations at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Sharon O'Keefe is president of University of Chicago Medical Center. She has led the medical center since 2011. Previously, she was president of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. She has also been COO and executive vice president of Boston's Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center and COO of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

John Orsini is the executive vice president and CFO of Cadence Health in Winfield, Ill. He joined the organization in 2013, bringing with him more than 25 years of healthcare finance experience. Prior to joining Cadence, Mr. Orsini was CFO of Presence Health in Chicago.

Robert L. Parkinson, Jr. is the chairman and CEO of Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter, a bioscience and medical products company. Mr. Parkinson has been CEO since 2004. Prior to joining Baxter, he was Dean of Loyola University Chicago School of Business Administration and Graduate School of Business from 2002 to 2004.

Lee Sacks is executive vice president and CMO of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care. Mr. Sacks was appointed CEO of Advocate Physician Partners in 1995, and executive vice president and CMO of Advocate Health Care in 1997.

José Sánchez is president and CEO or Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago, a position he has held since 2010. He previously served as senior vice president of Generations Plus Northern Manhattan Health Network in New York City.

William Santulli serves as executive vice president and COO of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill. Previously, Mr. Santulli was the CEO of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. Before then, he served as COO of New England Medical Center in Boston.

Kevin Scanlan is CEO of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, a position he has held since 2006. Prior to joining MCHC, Mr. Scanlan served as a human resources executive at Chicago Osteopathic Health System and as a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools.

John Jay Shannon, MD, is CEO of Cook County Health and Hospital System in Chicago. Mr. Shannon joined CCHHS medical staff in 1990. His previous roles included director of the Adult Asthma Clinic and associate chair of the department of medicine. He was also the executive vice president and CMO of Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital System from 2007 to 2012. In 2013, he rejoined CCHHS as the chief of clinical integration.

Joanne Smith, MD, is president and CEO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, a position she has held since 2006. She joined RIC as a practicing physician in 1992. Dr. Smith also serves as an assistant professor of physical medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She was named one of Chicago's Top Doctors by Chicago Magazine in every edition since 2004.

Douglas Silverstein is the president of NorthShore Evanston (Ill.) Hospital, a part of Evanston-based NorthShore University HealthSystem. Mr. Silverstein has been with NorthShore since 1992.

James Skogsbergh is president and CEO of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care. Before being appointed president and CEO, Mr. Skogsbergh served as executive vice president and COO of Advocate Health Care. He has also served as executive vice president of Iowa Health System in Des Moines and as the president and CEO of three Des Moines hospitals.

Karen Teitelbaum is president and CEO of Chicago-based Sinai Health System. Ms. Teitelbaum most recently served as executive vice president and COO of Sinai. She is an immediate-past member of the Maternal and Child Health Committee of the American Hospital Association and serves on the board of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council.

Richard Umbdenstock is president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, which has locations in Chicago and D.C. Mr. Umbdenstock was president and CEO of former Spokane, Wash.-based Providence Services, which merged with Providence Health System in 2006 to form Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services. He served as executive vice president of the merged system before assuming his current role in 2007.

John Venetos, MD, created the Physician's ACO of Chicago in 2012, with an aim of improving patient care while reducing healthcare costs. Dr. Venetos specialized in gastroenterology and hepatology, practicing on Chicago's north side.

Michael Vivoda is CEO of Winfield, Ill.-based Cadence Health. Mr. Vivoda was selected to lead Cadence Health, the system created through the merger of Central DuPage Health and Geneva, Ill.-based Delnor Community Health System, in April 2012. Before then, he served as president of Central DuPage Hospital.

Gary Wainer, DO, is Medical Director of Winfield, Ill.-based Cadence Medical Partners, Cadence Health's clinical integration and accountable care organization. He previously served as executive director and CMO of Chicago Health System — an ACO that included Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago and MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Ill.

Stephen Weber, MD, is vice president for clinical effectiveness and CMO of University of Chicago Medical Center. Mr. Weber has served in his current role at the medical center since 2011. Before then, he served as University of Chicago Medical Center's director of infection control and clinical quality.

Gary Weiss is executive vice president, treasurer and CFO of Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem. Mr. Weiss has been with NorthShore since 2001. He spent more than 25 years in the banking and financial sector before coming to NorthShore.

Thomas Werner is senior vice president and CFO of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira, a global hospital products company. Mr. Werner has held his current position with the company since 2006. Prior to joining Hospira, Mr. Werner was the CFO of Böwe Bell + Howell, a service, manufacturing and software company that provides document processing and postal solutions.

Miles White is the CEO of Abbott Laboratories in Abbot Park, Ill., a position he has held since 1999. Since 1984, when he joined Abbot Laboratories, Mr. White has held various management positions, including senior vice president of diagnostic operations.

Eric Yablonka is vice president and CIO of University of Chicago Medicine. Mr. Yablonka began his tenure in this role in August 2001. Before then, he served as vice president and CIO of Saint Raphael Healthcare System in New Haven, Conn.

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