Associate General Counsel - Litigation

The IT c-suite roles health systems cut. Health systems are rethinking how many technology executives they need at the top, with Becker's tracking a notable pattern of health system IT C-suite roles cutting across eight organizations in 2026 as longtime leaders retire or depart. How this Health System IT c-suite roles cutting pattern is unfolding. In 2026, several systems have let IT C-suite titles lapse when leaders retired or left, folded those duties into a broader job, or left the seats unfilled. At the same time, Becker's has tracked a steady stream of newly created AI, data, and digital roles, suggesting many systems are reshuffling technology leadership rather than simply shrinking it. Mass General Brigham's unfilled CTO vacancy. Nallan Sriraman departed as chief technology officer after nearly four years, announcing his exit Oct. 1. No successor has been announced. Jane Moran, chief information and digital officer since 2021, leads the system's technology organization in the interim. Consolidation examples within this Health System IT c-suite roles cutting trend. Memorial Hermann Health System's Eric Smith retired as senior vice president and chief digital officer Sept. 30 after more than six years. Senior Vice President and CIO Desiree Gandrup-Dupre will now oversee both IT and digital at the 17-hospital system, she told Becker's, directly consolidating two previously separate executive functions under one leader. Temple Health's broadened search. Following the August retirement of Debbie Cancilla as executive vice president of data strategy and CIO, Temple Health began searching for an executive vice president and chief information and digital officer. The broadened role will oversee IT, digital health, data and analytics, clinical informatics and cybersecurity, according to a Sept. 24 job posting, with Vinay Bharel serving as interim CIO in the meantime. Additional retirements within this Health System IT c-suite roles cutting pattern. UMass Memorial Health's Robin Sodano retired as senior vice president of information services and CIO Sept. 1. Kendall White, previously vice president and chief technology officer, was named senior vice president of information services. HCA Healthcare's Vice President and Chief Nursing Informatics Officer Sherri Hess retired in April, while HCA named Sarah Bryant to a new vice president and chief nursing transformation officer role. UCHealth and Michigan Medicine's leadership transitions. UCHealth's CT Lin, MD, retired as chief medical information officer June 30, passing on duties to Patrick Guffey, MD, chief informatics and outcomes officer. Michigan Medicine's Chief Technology Officer Tim Calahan, MD, left in February after four years leading the system's infrastructure modernization and move to public cloud; Michigan Medicine also named Anika Gardenhire, RN, its first chief digital and information officer. How Ardent Health fits this Health System IT c-suite roles cutting pattern. Ardent Health's Chief Digital and Transformation Officer Anika Gardenhire, RN, departed for Michigan Medicine in January. Ardent has not named a successor, making it one of the clearer examples on this list of a health system simply leaving an IT C-suite seat unfilled rather than consolidating or restructuring the role. Why Gardenhire's move illustrates both sides of this trend. Gardenhire's departure from Ardent Health, which left that seat vacant, and her subsequent appointment as Michigan Medicine's first chief digital and information officer together illustrate how the same individual executive move can simultaneously represent a role being cut at one organization and a new role being created at another, reinforcing Becker's broader point that this is reshuffling as much as reduction. What this Health System IT c-suite roles cutting trend means going forward. With Mass General Brigham and Ardent Health both currently operating without a named successor in these vacated roles, other health systems watching this trend may take these as test cases for whether consolidating technology leadership under fewer executives proves sustainable at scale. Given that several systems are broadening single roles to cover IT, digital, data, and clinical informatics simultaneously, as seen at Temple Health, health systems pursuing similar consolidation may need to ensure their chosen successor has sufficiently broad expertise to manage this expanded scope effectively. What to watch going forward. As Mass General Brigham and Ardent Health continue their searches for permanent successors, industry observers will likely watch whether these organizations ultimately consolidate the vacated roles into broader positions, following the pattern set by Memorial Hermann and Temple Health, or restore the standalone titles. Given the parallel trend of newly created AI, data, and digital roles emerging across the industry, this health system IT C-suite roles cutting pattern may reflect less an overall reduction in technology leadership capacity and more a fundamental restructuring of how health systems organize digital, AI, and traditional IT functions under their C-suites going forward.

Memorial Hermann In the Pink of Health holds 26th Annual Luncheon. Today Memorial Hermann In the Pink of Health held the 26th Annual Luncheon at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. Memorial Hermann In the Pink of Health is a group of inspired women who change lives by raising funds to reduce the incidence of breast and ovarian cancer, and to assist survivors in their journeys. The funds raised today helps raise essential funds to support In the Pink of Health's mission, helping to promote early detection of breast and ovarian cancer, provide free mammograms to the underserved, invest in state-of-the-art technology, and provide services to those on their cancer journey through the Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center located on the campus of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center. View moments from the luncheon on the Hello Woodlands Instagram page: The event kicked off with a Champagne Reception, Luxury Raffle, Glow Dine & Shine pull, Pink Boutique, and Education Exhibits. During the luncheon program, Dana Tyson was the emcee, Rev. Drew Essen led the invocation, and Senior Vice President of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center and Northeast Hospital Justin Kendrick welcomed guests. The 2026 Committee Chairs were Jamie Bolt and Nicole Preston, and Executive Vice President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Foundation Anne E. Neeson shared about the 26 years of community impact. Stephanie Parke Mason, DDS, shared her heartfelt survivor story about battling ovarian cancer, and Shayla Rivera shared an inspiring keynote message with humor and encouragement, sharing that Hello Woodlands is a story and how its words are very powerful - they can build up, encourage, and motivate Hello Woodlands to continue forward through uncertain times.