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 at the end of each week.
House Energy and Commerce Committee
The chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives will not seek reelection this year.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from the state of Washington, has been a prominent voice on the health subcommittee, helping advocate for many health priorities including the recent Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.
She joins a mass exodus of elected officials in the Energy and Commerce Committee, particularly in the health subcommittee, choosing to step down. They include Republicans Michael Burgess, Larry Bucshon and Greg Pence.
Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health, one of the largest LGBTQ organizations, has announced David Munar is stepping down as president and CEO Feb. 29.
In his 10 years as president and CEO, he is credited with Howard Brown Health being recognized as a federally qualified health center, a transition to a modern electronic health record system, its expansion to other parts of Chicago and caring for more than 38,000 patients.
Earlier this week, Howard Brown Health named Erica McCallum as CFO, Dona McCullough as chief human resources officer and Magda Houlberg, M.D., as medical director of geriatric medicine.
Calibrate
Calibrate, a digital metabolic health company, has named former Curve Health CEO Rob MacNaughton as CEO, replacing Isabelle Kenyon, who stepped down in the fall. MacNaughton spoke with Fierce Healthcare in an exclusive interview.
He will try to right a ship that has raised more $160 million since launch, but has faced downsizing and struggles to keep up with consumer demand.
MacNaughton previously was CEO of Curve Health and NurseGrid. Before then, he was senior vice president and chief product officer for Cambia Health Solutions. He also serves on the board of several organizations including Redesign Health, Frontier Dermatology, Heartland Veterinary Partners and Honey Mama’s.
> Walgreens Boots Alliance has announced a 17-member advisory counsel that will meet in front of CEO Tim Wentworth to discuss ways to recruit and retain pharmacists. The council include Rick Hates, chief pharmacy officer at Walgreens; Angela Kashuba, dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy; and Lorri Walmsley, director of pharmacy affairs for Walgreens.
> Days later, Walgreens said they are replacing John Driscoll, EVP and president of U.S. Healthcare, with former Solera Health CEO Mary Langowski, reported Fierce Healthcare. Driscoll will now serve in a senior advisory role. Manmohan Mahajan has been appointed as CFO, while Elizabeth Burger is joining Walgreens as chief human resources officer.
> UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest insurer, disclosed in a recent financial filing that Chief Operating Officer Dirk McMahon is retiring, reported Fierce Healthcare.
> American Psychiatric Association has tapped Johns Hopkins Health Plans SVP and Chief Medical Officer Marketa Wills, M.D., as CEO and medical director.
> The Biden administration has named Stephanie Psaki as global health security coordinator, Washington Post reported.
> Peggy Lillis Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for awareness and education of colon infections, has appointed Paul Feuerstadt, M.D., Debbie Trinker and David Shlaes, M.D., to its board of directors.
> Health insurer Cigna has named Mike Cole as general manager for its group employer business in North Texas and Oklahoma.
> Nabla, an ambient AI assistant for practitioners, has appointed Ed Lee, M.D., as chief medical officer.
> Octave, a behavioral health company, has appointed Amir Dan Rubin and former President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Andrew Dreyfus to its board. Amir Dan Rubin recently stepped down from his position as CEO for Amazon-owned primary care provider One Medical, Fierce Healthcare reported.
> UPMC Western Maryland has hired Christine Lechliter as chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services.
> AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, a hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, has named Alan Verrill, M.D., as president and CEO, effective Feb. 25.
> FORM, a virtual obesity medicine clinic, has selected Danielle Snow as chief operating officer and Matteo Zanella as vice president of product.
> Law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton has named Douglas Swill as partner for its healthcare division.
> Verily, an Alphabet health technology company focused on research and financing, has hired Myoung Cha from Carbon Health as chief product officer.
> The Georgia Department of Community Health has appointed former health policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Stuart Portman as executive director overseeing Medicaid.
> University Medical Center New Orleans has announced a new leadership team including John Nickens IV as CEO and president of the LCMC Health Hospital Services, Allison Guste as chief nursing officer and LCMC Health vice president of nursing and clinical services, Tom Patrias as chief operating officer and C.J. Marbley as vice president of nursing services.
> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has elected Thomas Lee, M.D., to its board of directors, while BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has hired Ashleigh Jenkins-Dieckhaus as the company’s first vice president of commercial clinical operations.
> Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy, has appointed Ngan MacDonald as a director within its health care division.
> Valeos, a nonprofit that improves organ transplant outcomes through shared data, has appointed its first members on its board of directors and advisory committee including Stephanie Trunzo, SVP and general manager of Oracle Health; Tony Coelho, a former U.S. Congressman; and Kamran Khaliq, a former CISO for the Office of the Secretary for HHS.
> HCA Healthcare, a Nashville-based provider of healthcare services including 186 hospitals, has named Chad Wasserman as senior vice president and chief information officer, replacing Marin Paslick who is retiring.
> Inspira Health, a nonprofit health care and physician training organization, has promoted Robin Walton as chief philanthropy officer and senior vice president of external affairs.
> Charlie Health, a provider of virtual mental healthcare, has tapped Christine Ko as chief people officer.
> NRC Health, a provider of healthcare solutions and data-driven insights, has hired Helen Hrdy as chief customer officer, Jason Hahn as chief revenue officer, Christophe Louvion as chief product technology officer and Andy Monnich as chief corporate development officer.
> Healthmine, a technology-enabled member engagement solutions, has announced former Blue Cross Blue Shield exec Maureen Sullivan to its advisory board.
> Availity, a health information network, has named Jennifer Irwin as chief marketing officer.
> Intermountain Health, a health system in Colorado, has tapped Elizabeth Withers, M.D., as chief medical officer.
> athenahealth, a provider of network-enabled software and services for medical groups and health systems, has appointed David Minkin as general manager of epocrates, a company giving digital clinical decision support.
> Lifepoint Health, a healthcare delivery network, has appointed Bob Barrett in a new role as senior vice president of growth and transformation. Bill Ziesmer will replace Barrett.
> Zerigo Health, a digital health platform for home treatment of chronic skin conditions, has selected Eric Zerneke as chief growth officer.
> Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida has named Karen Lu, M.D., as executive vice president and physician in chief, overseeing the Moffitt Medical Group.
> HCA Florida Westside Hospital has selected Drew Tyler as CEO, according to a LinkedIn post, while HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast has announced Musaddiq Waheed, M.D., as chief medical officer.
> NeuroFlow, a digital health company promoting behavioral health integration, has named Jeremy Kreyling as senior vice president of healthcare and data informatics, according to the company’s website.
> Chilmark Research, a healthcare IT analyst firm, has formed its first advisory board which includes Pam Arlotto, founder of Maestro Strategies; Amanda Goltz, global team lead of healthcare strategy for startups and VC for Amazon Web Services; and Gabe Orthous, director of value-based performance and analytics for Health Choice Network.
> Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie, Florida has named Chirag Choudhary, M.D., as vice president and chief medical officer, effective March 1.
> Emory University, in a newly created role, has appointed Madhu Behera as chief research informatics officer.