Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here each week.
Week of Jan. 5
>Eduardo Conrado stepped into the CEO chair at Ascension on Jan. 1, taking over for the retiring Joseph Impicciche.
Conrado has been the major health system's president since 2023, and continues to hold that title. He joined in 2018 to serve in digital, strategy and innovation positions. Prior to that, he’d spent 26 years at Motorola Solutions and served on Ascension’s board for five years.
In a blog post published this week, Conrado said his focus as CEO will be for Ascension to strengthen access to care, modernize care delivery and deepen commitments to those most in need—achieved through a combination of mission-driven strategy, capital deployment and talent.
>Jesse Ehrenfeld, M.D., has joined clinical AI company Aidoc as its new chief medical officer.
Ehrenfeld, a board-certified anesthesiologist and clinical informaticist, steps into the role after a stint as president of the American Medical Association. There, he led advocacy on issues like physician wellbeing and the responsible use of AI in clinical care. His new post will keep to those subjects as he supports Aidoc's health system customers.
“It’s clear that Aidoc’s success to date has been rooted in building technology physicians trust," he said in a release. "I’m joining to help scale that impact, ensuring that clinical AI continues to be a seamless, essential part of the modern care delivery model.”
>Abhi Rastogi took on the roles of president and CEO at Temple Health on January 2, taking over for Michael Young, who retired.
Rastogi has been with the organization for more than 20 years. He most recently served as the president and CEO of Temple University Hospital and its campuses, as well as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the broader system. He's credited with delivering more than $100 million in annual impact via operational and financial improvements.
>Christian Pass was named chief financial officer of Keck Medicine of USC, and will officially begin the new role on Jan. 12.
He comes to the academic health system from Optum, where he was president of provider and payvider enterprise clients. Before that he had several senior financial leadership titles at John Muir Health that culminated in a chief financial officer role.
“Pass has more than 30 years of health care finance leadership experience with a proven history of cultivating high-performing teams and guiding organizations through critical financial and operational transformations,” Rod Hanners, CEO of Keck Medicine, said in a release. “He brings tremendous knowledge and skill to this position that will support the continued growth of the health system.”
>Sarah Ness officially began her new job as president and CEO of PeaceHealth on Jan. 3.
Ness has been with the nine-hospital system for more than 20 years, most recently as its executive vice president and chief administrative officer. She's credited with leading organizational transformations within the system's culture, technology systems and operations.
She takes over for Liz Dunne, who had announced her retirement last year.
>Chip Hubbs, the president CEO of Marysville, Ohio-based Memorial Health, shared plans to retire at the end of this year.
He's held the roles for nearly 22 years, and before that was the CEO of Community Memorial Hospital elsewhere in the state. "In all, Chip has worked for nine different hospitals throughout his career in every facet from groundskeeper and maintenance to intern, fellow, Evening Administrator, Executive Director, and CEO," according to the announcement.
Hubbs plans to work with the health system's board on a long-term strategy and transition plan during his final year in the office.
>The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the lobbying group representing pharmacy benefit managers, has named longtime policy expert David Marin as its new CEO, succeeding J.C. Scott.
Marin will officially take the CEO chair on Jan. 20, according to a PCMA announcement. He comes to the organization from drugmaker Viatris, where he was the global head of government affairs, public policy and advocacy. He also previously served as a managing principal at Podesta Group, where he led advocacy efforts for a slew of firms including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Mylan.
He also held key staff roles on the Hill, according to the announcement.
“David Marin is the ideal leader for PCMA at a time of significant change in our industry,” said PCMA Board Chair Adam Kautzner, President of Express Scripts and Evernorth Care Management.
In addition to Marin's hire, PCMA announced that Brendan Buck will serve as the organization's new chief communications officer, also effective on Jan. 20. Buck joins PCMA from public affairs firm Seven Letter.