As vice president and CIO at Heywood Healthcare, Mr. Ackerman provides executive leadership for information services strategy, operations and workforce development, aligning technology initiatives with organizational mission, patient safety and financial sustainability. He oversees technology strategic planning, resource management, systems integration, security, networking and user support, all while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and high-touch customer service.He routinely rounds in clinical areas, including overnight during planned downtime, to ensure technology decisions reflect frontline realities and support safe care delivery. His crisis leadership was highlighted during a 2025 cybersecurity incident, when he activated incident response protocols, took affected systems offline and helped stand up emergency communications, temporary wireless connectivity and more than 100 air-gapped computers to maintain essential access while clinical teams operated under downtime procedures. He led a phased restoration of clinical and administrative systems based on clinical priority, treating the event as a patient safety imperative rather than solely a technical disruption. Beyond incident response, Mr. Ackerman is recognized for reducing friction in the EHR and supporting systems by focusing on clinician usability and “invisible” technology that strengthens reliability. He is a College of Healthcare Information Management Executives member and his prior leadership experience includes service as deputy associate CIO for Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
