CEO: James Hereford
- Total Compensation: $5,246,751
Background
- Hereford studied mathematics through graduate school. During his PhD (not completed), Hereford went on to consult at Boeing
- Previously chief operations officer at Stanford Health Care. Previous roles included chief operations officer at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and a series of leadership roles with the Group Health Care Delivery System.
- Built his reputation by bringing lean management, a theory of management that involves identifying and ‘removing waste and inefficiency,’ to healthcare. This experience was held up positively at the time of his hiring: “He’s a health system executive who once taught statistical process control at Boeing and who now is eager to show his Fairview colleagues a big automotive air bag factory in northern Utah so good at quality management that it’s approaching perfection.” – Lee Schafer
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through his board roles on the Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Business Partnership, and Medical Alley, where he serves as board chair
- Has a second million-dollar home in Palm Springs, CA
- Has never worked at the bedside
Notable Board Members
- Julie S. Causey, Chairman Emeritus, Western Bank
- Julie led the successful sale of the $500 million Western Bank and served on the board of directors of the acquirer, American National, valued at $3 billion.
- According to Fairview, “Julie has a longstanding connection to the healthcare industry. She is an advisor and accredited investor, focused on healthcare and medical technology.”
- Michael Connly, Former Optum and UnitedHealthGroup Executive
- David Levy, Amazon Executive
- Levy lives in Virginia and is not tied to the success of Minnesota’s communities.
- Tami Reller, Executive Chair, Duly Health and Care
- Duly Health and Care is a for-profit company, partially owned by private equity group Ares Management. According to research from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, private equity-backed companies engage in union busting at a higher rate than peers.
- Former Optum and UnitedHealthGroup Executive
- Chair of the Best of America PAC, which supported Governor Doug Burgum for President. Burgum, current United States Secretary of the Interior, signed near total ban on abortion in North Dakota as governor.
- Jodi Richard, Vice Chairman and Chief Risk Officer, U.S. Bank
- Barclay Berdan, CEO, Texas Health Resources
- Berdan lives in Texas and is not tied to the success of Minnesota’s communities.
- Texas Health has come under criticism in the past: “Texas Health later settled a lawsuit with Nina Pham ’10, a nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for Duncan. Some national media outlets criticized the hospital’s handling of the episode, citing an independent report that found little communication among emergency room staff and a diminished focus on patient safety.”
- In 2015, the Department of Justice reached settlements involving hospitals in 43 states related to cardiac devices that were implanted in Medicare patients in violation of Medicare coverage requirements. Seven Texas Health hospitals settled, collectively paying the federal government $2.9 million.