Health systems hiring a top HR executive in 2026 are rarely promoting from within. Most are recruiting executives who already hold the job somewhere else.
Of 17 health system CHRO and chief people officer appointments Becker’s reported between January and early October, 11 (65%) went to executives who were serving as CHRO at another organization or had recently left the role. Only two (12%) went to internal candidates.
Those 17 are part of a larger wave. Counting smaller systems and hospitals, Becker’s has tracked at least 25 CHRO and CPO appointments so far in 2026, compared with 11 in all of 2025.
Health systems’ preference for proven HR chiefs runs against the broader market. Across industries, 60% of incoming CHROs in 2025 were first-timers, and 45% of all appointments were first-time internal promotions, according to Russell Reynolds data.
Among the 17 health system hires, 14 (82%) had previously held a top HR title. Just three were first-time CHROs, and only one of those was promoted from within.
Hiring from the CHRO bench
Most of the 2026 hires were sitting CHROs at another organization, and several moved from smaller organizations to larger ones.
- Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente named Shaun Smith CPO, effective Oct. 12. Mr. Smith was group senior vice president and chief people and culture officer at New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian.
- University of Chicago Medicine tapped Gina Cronin, executive vice president and CPO of Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National Hospital, as senior vice president and CHRO, effective Oct. 19.
- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health hired Denver Mitchell from Fayetteville, N.C.-based Cape Fear Valley Health, an eight-hospital system with 10,000 employees.
- Indianapolis-based Community Health Network named Elisabeth Klar, previously CHRO of Springfield, Ill.-based Memorial Health, CPO.
- Oklahoma City-based Integris Health recruited Laura Starks from Terre Haute, Ind.-based Union Health, where she had been CHRO since 2023.
- Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System hired Dennis Fisher, CHRO of Columbia, Tenn.-based Maury Regional Health.
- Des Moines, Iowa-based MercyOne named Brooke Thrasher, CHRO of Boise, Idaho-based St. Alphonsus Health System. Both systems are part of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health.
- Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System hired Myra Gregorian from Seattle Children’s Hospital.
- Birmingham-based Children’s of Alabama named Clara Blitch, CHRO of Franklin, Tenn.-based Williamson Health.
- The University of Texas at Austin’s academic health system hired Traci Nordberg, CPO of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health.
Recent and former CHROs are also in demand. New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery named Pam Teufel CPO months after she left the CHRO post at Radnor, Pa.-based Main Line Health. Baltimore-based GBMC HealthCare tapped Michael Pulido, a former CHRO, chief administrative officer and COO at St. Joseph, Mo.-based Mosaic Life Care.
Because systems recruit sitting CHROs, one hire often opens another seat. After Ms. Nordberg left Lifepoint, the company hired Jason Fisher, CHRO of Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas.
The few exceptions
Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy is the only system in the group to promote a first-time CHRO from within. It named Mark “Mo” Moir, PhD, its vice president of talent, to succeed CPO Catherine Codispoti.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Ardent Health elevated interim CHRO Cheryl Chisholm, who had been with Ardent for about eight months.
The other two first-timers came from outside:
- Cincinnati-based TriHealth named Ginger Madden CPO, a 26-year TriHealth veteran who returned from Mass General Brigham.
- Gaithersburg, Md.-based Adventist HealthCare hired Opal Howard as CHRO, who had been CPO of AdventHealth’s East Florida Division.
Why it matters
The CHRO job has grown riskier and more important. Labor made up 60% of hospital costs in 2025, according to the AHA. HR leaders are also making harder calls on hiring, pay and restructuring.
“Workforce decisions at this level require both discipline and empathy,” said Stacey Hancock, CHRO of Thomasville, Ga.-based Archbold.
Boards facing those stakes appear to want someone who has done the job before. The role’s scope is growing too. Titles now include chief people and culture officer, and chief caregiver officer, while some HR leaders are moving into operations roles.
Turnover remains high. Nearly 46% of health system CHROs had been in their roles less than three years, compared with 30% of CEOs, according to a 2025 WittKieffer report. With so many hires coming from other health systems’ HR seats, each one sends another system looking for a replacement.
Editor’s note: This analysis is based on 17 health system CHRO and CPOappointments reported by Becker’s from January through early October 2026. “Sitting or recent CHRO” includes executives who held a top HR role at another organization at the time of hire or within the previous few months.
