Emory University Hospital. Photo by Jason Oh.
Michael J. Mandl will serve as the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Emory Healthcare (EHC), according to an all-University email announcement from University President James W. Wagner on March 11. The Executive Committee of the Emory Board of Trustees endorsed Wagner’s appointment, which became effective March 16, according to Wagner’s email.
Mandl moved up to CEO from his position as the executive vice president for business and administration, a position he has occupied since he first came to Emory in 2003. Before he joined Emory’s administration, Mandl served as the vice president for financial services at Duke University.
Mandl wrote that he is happy to serve Emory “in this new way that has been asked of me and to work more closely with the extraordinary people of EHC and the School of Medicine to advance our mission.”
Wagner is also looking forward to Mandl’s new position.
“[Mandl] is an extraordinary executive leader with great capacity and heart,” Wagner wrote in an email to the Wheel.
He added that Mandl has been serving as the chair of EHC Board of Directors since September and has been the “point person” in guiding Emory’s engagement with WellStar Health System.
The University announced in a Feb. 9 press release that EHC and WellStar would engage in formal discussions regarding a merger.
[quote_box name=””]“So he has been building a deepening familiarity with our health care enterprise and its mission in the context of Emory’s broader mission,” Wagner wrote.[/quote_box]
Mandl’s appointment followed the Jan. 7 resignation of John Fox, who served EHC as president and CEO for 16 years.
Wagner noted that Fox was among several people with whom he consulted prior to making the decision to appoint Mandl.
Mandl wrote in an email to the Wheel that he has worked with Fox over the last 12 years and has worked even more closely with him since his announced departure.
As far as the possibility of an EHC-WellStar merger, Mandl wrote that the Board of Trustees will ultimately decide but that the decision will be a “team effort.”
“I will quarterback the effort, but the process will involve many leaders, in particular the physician leaders,” Mandl wrote. “It will be a team effort and a long process to determine if it is the right answer for Emory and for WellStar, but I am confident that at the end of the day we will get it right, regardless of how it turns out.”
WellStar CEO Reynold Jennings wrote in an email to the Wheel that the Board of Trustees for the new system would select the new CEO if the two entities merged.
However, Mandl wrote that he is not concerned with his job security if a merger were to take place, according to a Feb. 12 edition of the Wheel.
“I agreed to serve in this role [and] to serve Emory in its ongoing pursuit of excellence in delivering its mission,” he wrote. “I wake up every day focused on doing what I can toward that end, and I take it one day at a time. I believe that if I stay focused on that goal — strength and excellence of Emory people and programs — the rest will take care of itself and I will be satisfied.”
Mandl’s promotion to president and CEO left what Wagner called a “critical opening in Emory’s leadership team.”
Wagner announced two interim appointments to fill the opening left by Mandl’s promotion, in a March 13 University-wide email.
Current Enterprise Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice Provost for Library Services and Digital Scholarship Rich Mendola will temporarily take over Mandl’s previous position and serve as interim executive vice president for business and administration.
Current Deputy Chief Information Officer Marc Overcash will serve as interim enterprise chief information officer and senior vice provost for library services and digital scholarship.
According to the email, the interim appointments were also effective March 16 and “will serve Emory well as we begin a national search to fill the position of EVPBA.”
Wagner wrote in an email to the Wheel that the search for the executive vice president for business and administration will be underway shortly.
“But it is important and comforting to note that the leaders in the Office of Business and Administration are a very strong and cohesive team in whom we all can have immense confidence,” Wagner wrote. “I feel very confident about the continuing effectiveness of that office. Mike Mandl has left an extraordinary team in place.”
— By Annie McGrew
