Suresh Gunasekaran named new CEO of UI Hospitals & Clinics
Brooks Jackson, MD, UI Vice President for Medical Affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine, announced August 20 the selection of Suresh Gunasekaran, MBA, as the new associate vice president of University of Iowa Health Care and chief executive officer of UI Hospitals & Clinics. Pending approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, Gunasekaran will begin work Nov. 19, 2018.
“Mr. Gunasekaran is ideally qualified to lead UI Hospitals & Clinics. His broad experience in health care information technology, physician group practices, and children’s hospitals is impressive,” Jackson said. “I look forward to his contributions as part of the UI Health Care senior leadership team as we continue our proud tradition of providing high-quality health care to our patients.”
Gunasekaran says he feels very fortunate to be selected and is looking forward to joining the UI Health Care team and Iowa City area community. “I am excited to join a nationally recognized health care organization and work alongside world-class faculty, caring clinicians, and dedicated staff to make a difference in the lives of all Iowans.”
More about Suresh Gunasekaran
Suresh Gunasekaran is currently the chief operations officer for the University of Texas Southwestern Health System in Dallas, Texas, which is comprised of the 1,700-member faculty practice plan and two university hospitals. He is also senior executive officer for a joint-venture population health services company serving more than 400,000 members in North Texas.
Gunasekaran began his health care career in clinic and revenue cycle operations at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital, and joined UT Southwestern in 2004 as assistant vice president and chief information officer for the health system.
He received a master’s in business administration with honors from Southern Methodist University, and was winner of the Entrepreneurship Prize.
Pending Board of Regents approval, Gunasekeran’s annual salary will be $800,000.
In his announcement to UI Health Care staff, Jackson thanked members of the search committee, led by Carver College of Medicine Executive Dean Patricia Winokur, “for working quickly to bring in excellent candidates for this key leadership position.”
Jackson also acknowledged the 10 years of service provided by the current CEO, Ken Kates, who retires from UI Health Care in September. “Like many of you, I have appreciated Ken’s partnership and expertise. He has made a tremendous difference at UI Health Care, and exemplifies what it means to always put the patient first. We will all miss him.”