Modern Healthcare’s Top Women Leaders in Healthcare

Modern Healthcare on Tuesday released its 2023 list of the “Top Women Leaders in Healthcare,” honoring female executives from all sectors of the industry who are developing policy, leading change, and improving healthcare delivery across the country.

About the list

To create the list, Modern Healthcare accepted nominations for women who are in healthcare leadership roles across the country. To be eligible, the nominees must:

• Currently serve as an SVP or higher in their organization
• Work at a physician organization, hospital, insurer, home health organization, government, research organization, vendor, or supplier organization
• Promote gender equity in the C-suite
• Serve as a mentor for the next generation of leaders
• Demonstrate significant achievements in helping their organizations exceed strategic, financial, and clinical goals

In addition to Modern Healthcare‘s “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” list, nominees were also considered for two other categories: “Luminaries” and “Women to Watch.” These additional lists allowed the publication to “honor additional high-achievers in the field at all stages in their careers holding managerial/executive-level positions.”

A panel of judges and top editors at Modern Healthcare ultimately selected who to include in the lists.

Who made the list

The women who made Modern Healthcare‘s “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” list for 2023 — in alphabetical order by last name — are:

• Josie Abboud, president and CEO of Methodist Hospital and Methodist Women’s Hospital
• Iman Abuzeid, co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health
• Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
• Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, CMS administrator
• Sumbul Desai, VP of health at Apple
• Karen DeSalvo, chief health officer at Google
• Elizabeth Dunne, president and CEO at PeaceHealth
• Regina Foley, EVP and chief transformation officer at Hackensack Meridian Health
• Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health
• Wendy Horton, CEO of University of Virginia Medical Center
• Catherine Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health
• Laura Kaiser, president and CEO of SSM Health
• Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health
• Sarah London, CEO of Centene
• Karen Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health
• Stephanie Mercado, CEO and executive director of the National Association for Healthcare Quality
• Julie Miller-Phipps, president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii Health Plan and Hospitals
• Sammie Mosier, SVP and chief nurse executive of HCA Healthcare
• Karen Murphy, EVP and CIO of Geisinger
• Janice Nevin, president and CEO of ChristianaCare
• Amy Perry, president and COO of Banner Health
• Lisa Shannon, president and CEO of Allina Health
• Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health
• Pamela Sutton-Wallace, COO of Yale New Haven Health System
• Prathibha Varkey, president of Mayo Clinic Health System

The women who made Modern Healthcare‘s “Luminaries” list for 2023 — in alphabetical order by last name — are:

• Deborah Bowen, president and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives
• Bonnie Castillo, executive director of National Nurses United
• Anne Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham
• Mary Pittman, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute
• Annette Walker, president of City of Hope Orange County

The women who made Modern Healthcare‘s “Women to Watch” list for 2023 — in alphabetical order by last name — are:

• Toyin Ajayi, co-founder and CEO of Cityblock Health
• Denise Basow, EVP and chief digital officer of Ochsner Health
• Arianne Dowdell, VP and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Houston Methodist
• Kristy Duffey, CNO at Optum Health*
• Elizabeth Fowler**, deputy administrator and director of CMS
• Jill Kalman, EVP, CMO, and deputy physician-in-chief of Northwell Health
• Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey, CEO of Health Dimensions Group
• Airica Steed, president and CEO of MetroHealth System
• Margaret-Mary Wilson, EVP and CMO of UnitedHealth Group*
• Claire Zangerle, chief nurse executive of Allegheny Health Network

(Modern Healthcare‘s “Top Women Leaders in Healthcare” list, accessed 2/22; Modern Healthcare‘s “Top Women Leaders in Healthcare” methodology, accessed 2/22)

*Advisory Board is a subsidiary of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. All Advisory Board research, expert perspectives, and recommendations remain independent.