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Healthcare Executive Search – The rise of the specialist

Interesting data on hiring trends in the healthcare sector, according to this piece from Modern Healthcare.  In short, healthcare executive search firms are increasingly recommending leaders with a medical practitioner background as CEOs.

Ed Stout, Managing Partner and Healthcare Lead of Diversified Search is quoted as saying:

“In the past, it was typical to see academic medical centers hiring physician CEOs, but we now see community health systems and large integrated delivery systems asking to see physicians in almost every CEO search we undertake.”

Clearly, a medical background is going to carry certain benefits that a more generic management background might not.  However, healthcare executive search specialists are quick to make clear that the ability to use a scalpel is not adequate qualification.

Brenda Dogherty is a Partner and Head of Healthcare with executive search firm Buffkin/Baker, and she told Healthcare IT News that a medical background is not enough:

“If you don’t have P&L responsibility, you’re left in the background and not considered.”

“You’ll also need an advanced degree. Anything in finance as a secondary area is what I would strongly recommend.  Finance is the fuel of running a business. If you can’t understand who’s paying for what and how much it costs, your voice doesn’t have the substance.”

Of course, as with any other sector, healthcare executive search firms will – from time to time – recruit from outside.  Preston Smith is President of  specialist healthcare executive search firm Tyler & Company. He pointed out to Becker’s Hospital Review that the ever-changing nature of healthcare meant that sometimes it is necessary to bring in entirely fresh blood:

“Although many of the placements for these positions come from healthcare backgrounds, it is not unusual to see healthcare organizations adopting talented experts from outside industries who are able to bring a fresh perspective to customer experience, hospitality, patient satisfaction, technology improvement and process improvement,”

The article in Healthcare IT News also makes another important point.  Currently, only a third of CEOs in hospitals are female – and that statistic hasn’t changed much for three years.  The stats in Medtech are even worse.  Doherty believes that the trend towards more practitioner CEOs might help improve the diversity stats in time.

Executives wishing to be “on the radar” of healthcare executive search specialists are welcome to create a complimentary GatedTalent profile and share information on skills, aspirations and availability with our global executive search firm clients.

"If you don’t have P&L responsibility, you’re left in the background and not considered.”

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